It's wrong to rule Mitt Romney out of a third run for the White House in 2016, as the former Massachusetts governor has been busy consulting with his family and advisers and keeping an eye on the emerging GOP candidates, says an op-ed piece in
The Washington Examiner.
"That doesn't mean he will decide to do it, but it does mean that Mitt 2016 is a real possibility," writes Byron York, chief political correspondent for The Examiner.
He points out that Romney's inner circle is still intact and have developed an "extraordinary loyalty" for Romney, who keeps in close touch with them, including conversations about everything that could come up with a 2016 campaign, including discussions about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Virtually the entire advisory group that surrounded Mitt in 2012 are eager for him to run, almost to a man and a woman," York quotes a source close to Romney.
Meanwhile, many of Romney's financial supporters are not committing to a candidate until
they hear for sure whether Romney is going to run, and they believe he is giving every indication that he will, said York.
Romney has constantly denied that he plans to run, but supporters are hearing other words, including when
he told radio host Hugh Hewitt that "circumstances can change" when it comes to 2016.
In addition, a potential Romney candidacy may backfire, a new
AOL poll shows.
When asked in the poll if they would prefer to see Romney or Clinton in the White House, a huge majority, 61 percent, said they would rather have "anyone else."
Even Romney's denials seem to have some "wiggle room," said York. When he told Fox News earlier this month that it was "time for someone else to pick up the baton," supporters said there still seemed like there was room in the statement for Romney to change his mind.
Romney is also "doing the kind of things a candidate might do at this stage in a race," writes York, including working closely with Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, the vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to campaign for GOP Senate candidates, and is also appearing on television.
Romney is waiting to see if former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will run for president, as Romney believes Bush is the only one in the current prospective group of GOP candidates who can beat Hillary Clinton, said York.
Ultimately, said York, one of Romney's "inner circle" says there is no way to determine if he'll run, but said the odds are "definitely more than zero."
Related stories:
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.