Former U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced this week that he would not enter the race again in 2016 for the third time, and political strategists believe that his exit will improve the position of another contender, Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida and younger brother of former President George W. Bush.
According to an official statement Mr. Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, said he was “convinced” he would have won the Republican primary contest again, but “I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee.”
In a conference call with supporters, Mr. Romney said it would have been a “difficult test and a hard fight,” but he did not want to “make it more difficult for someone else to emerge who may have a better chance of” becoming the President.
Although no candidate has formally entered the race, considering that there is time for the campaign to begin, Mr. Romney’s early departure could have started a new race for the backing of donors who had remained loyal to the 2012 Republican nominee.
Reports said that large pools of funds were already moving toward Mr. Jeb Bush, considering that he had already had won over several of Mr. Romney’s past donors.
However, Mr. Romney’s words suggest that he does not believe Mr. Bush would be the top candidate.
He said, “I believe that one of our next generation of Republican leaders, one who may not be as well-known as I am today, one who has not yet taken their message across the country, one who is just getting started, may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat nominee.”
Given that both Mr. Romney and Mr. Bush are reputed to be mainstream moderates within the Republican Party, in the months ahead, the race is also likely to throw up more conservative candidates, possibly some with links to the Tea Party.
Whoever enters the field and triumphs in the primary faces a high chance of going toe to toe with former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, who has not yet declared her interest in running for the White House but is widely expected to do so and emerge as one of the strongest candidates in the race.
