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Mitt Romney told supporters Friday that he would
not run for president in 2016, ending three weeks of public speculation and
sparing the Republican Party a potentially bruising nominating battle between
its past nominee and its rising stars.
“After putting considerable thought into making
another run for president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the
party the opportunity to become our next nominee,” Romney said in a statement
he read to supporters on a conference call Friday morning.
Romney insisted that he would have had enough
support from potential donors to be “more than competitive” and that the
positive reaction he heard from Republican activists was “surprising and
heartening.” He noted that he led the GOP field in recent public polls.
“I am convinced that we could win the nomination,
but fully realize it would have been difficult test and a hard fight,” Romney
said in remarks he delivered by phone from New York with his wife, Ann, by his
side.
“You can’t imagine how hard it is for Ann and me to
step aside, especially knowing of your support and the support of so many
people across the country,” he added. “But we believe it is for the best of the
party and the nation.”
Mitt Romney visits with diners at Little Dooey, a barbecue restaurant in Starkville, Miss., on Wednesday. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)
Romney spoke for four minutes before signing off by
telling supporters, “Bye bye.” He encouraged his allies to “stay engaged” in
the 2016 campaign and to “feel free” to sign up with any of the other potential
candidates.
Romney had been publicly weighing a third run at
the White House for three weeks after telling a group of former campaign donors
in New York on Jan. 9 that he still wanted to be president.
His dalliance invited a barrage of critical
reaction from many Republican leaders, conservative commentators and major
donors. The influential Wall Street Journal editorial page was
particularly harsh, describing Romney’s political profile as “protean,” his
political team as “mediocre” and his managerial skills as questionable based on
his 2012 loss to President Obama.
Romney’s advisers discounted the impact those
criticisms would have on the former Massachusetts governor’s ultimate decision.
Instead, they said earlier, Romney was spending his time as he always had under
such circumstances: gathering data, speaking to as many people as possible and
then weighing the evidence before making any final decision.
Romney’s decision to forgo a third run came after a lengthy
meeting of Romney’s inner circle in Boston last Friday, during which they
evaluated feedback from former campaign donors and activists in key early
voting states. The assessment was realistic — “we were not Pollyanaish,” one
adviser said — and included reports from Iowa, New Hampshire and South
Carolina, where Romney would have lost some key precinct leaders although still
had considerable support.
Many participants left that session convinced that it was all
but certain he would run again. In the end, however, Romney balked. One person
close to the family said he made up his mind last weekend, but wanted to give
himself the week to think it over before making his decision final.
“It’s a very personal decision,” said a senior adviser, who like
others interviewed requested anonymity to speak candidly. “All the political
metrics were positive. Ultimately, running for president, you just have to feel
right about it in your heart. They just didn’t feel it was right. He’s a happy
person. He’s not a needy, desperate guy.”
Ron Kaufman, a longtime Romney adviser and confidant, said he
and others in the circle believed Romney would have made an excellent president
and that he was sad the country would not have the chance for him to serve.
“As much as you might want to be the candidate, you sometimes
realize you can be more effective at helping fulfill a different role,” Kaufman
said. “He’s an amazing person and he doesn’t need to have the captain’s seat.”
Romney, in recent conversations with intimates as well as his
public appearances, sounded eager to step back into the political ring. Those
who have spoken to Romney said they came away from the conversations believing
he was likely to run again for several reasons, including that he views the
emerging GOP field of contenders as too weak to defeat likely Democratic
candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, that he believes he would be a better
candidate after his experiences in 2012, and that he sensed an opportunity to
win.
Romney signaled that if he ran again, his campaign would focus
on three themes: foreign policy, expanding opportunities for the middle class
and eradicating poverty.
In Friday’s call, Romney said: “I also believe with the message
of making the world safer, providing opportunity for every American regardless
of the neighborhood they live in, and working to break the grip of poverty, I
would have the best chance of beating the eventual Democrat nominee, but that’s
before the other contenders have had the opportunity to take their message to
the voters.
“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. In fact, I expect
and hope that to be the case.”
Romney’s announcement comes as former Florida governor Jeb Bush
has taken aggressive steps toward a campaign, traveling around the country
meeting with donors and other party figures, many of them loyal to Romney in
2012. Bush has set up a leadership PAC and a super PAC, both with the name
“Right to Rise,” and has been test-driving a campaign message centered squarely
on middle-class opportunity.
Bush wrote in a Facebook post on Friday that Romney “has been a leader in our
party for many years” and that “there are few people who have worked harder to
elect Republicans across the country than he has.”
“Though I’m sure today’s decision was not easy, I know that Mitt
Romney will never stop advocating for renewing America’s promise through upward
mobility, encouraging free enterprise and strengthening our national defense,”
Bush added. “Mitt is a patriot and I join many in hoping his days of serving
our nation and our party are not over.”
Another potential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), said of
Romney, “He certainly earned the right to consider running, so I deeply respect
his decision to give the next generation a chance to lead. I wish him, Ann and
his entire family the best and hope he will continue to serve our country and
his community as he’s done throughout his life.”
Romney is scheduled to have dinner Friday night with New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie (R), who also is eyeing a 2016 run, a get-together was
planned before Romney’s announcement. Romney was already scheduled to be in the
New York area Friday, because he and Ann are slated to attend a lunchtime
function in Manhattan.
While the two men are friends, longtime supporters do not expect
Romney to throw his weight behind Christie or any other candidate in the immediate
future.
In a speech to the Republican National Committee meeting in San Diego two weeks ago,
Romney said that dealing with wage stagnation, the middle class economic
squeeze and lifting people out poverty should be among the handful of pillars
for a 2016 GOP campaign.
At the same meeting, Romney also signaled that, if he ran, he
would be far more forthcoming about — and presumably comfortable with — his
Mormon faith, which he largely avoided talking about in his first two
campaigns. Romney told friends that he wanted to be a more authentic candidate if
he ran in 2016 than he was in 2008 or in 2012.
This was Romney’s way of trying to tell people that the
stereotype of him as a cold-hearted businessman was a false construct by his
opponents, and that his faith and good works would show a more empathetic side
to the public.
But Romney also dealt with some serious defections from his
political operation and donor network. On Thursday, David Kochel, an adviser to
Romney for more than a decade and his top strategist in Iowa, announced he
would work instead for Bush. Should Bush launch a presidential campaign, Kochel
is in line to become national campaign manager.
The Kochel move shook
some in Romney’s orbit, which had included the former aide on some recent
strategy talks and believed he would be on board with Romney in 2016. But two
close Romney advisers said Kochel’s departure had no impact on his decision.
Many longtime figures in Romney’s political orbit advised him
through his deliberations, including former Utah governor Michael O. Leavitt,
strategist Stuart Stevens, close friend Bob White, political advisers Kaufman,
Beth Myers, Eric Fehrnstrom and Peter Flaherty, and policy adviser Lanhee Chen.
Romney’s announcement Friday comes a day before arriving in
Washington for the annual dinner of the exclusive Alfalfa Club, where he is
being inducted as a new member.
Seven Bush family members are members, but none is attending the
annual dinner on Saturday night. As a result, one member says, attention will
focus heavily on Romney. The former Massachusetts governor will be seated at
the head table next to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence,
both potential 2016 rivals.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be staged in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29.
All teams divided in two groups
New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, Scotland, Bangladesh, Afghanistan
India, Pakistan, South Africa, UAE, West Indies, Ireland
India will begin its title defence against traditional rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage clash in Adelaide on February 15.
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain)
2. Virat Kohli
3. Shikhar Dhawan
4. Rohit Sharma
5. Suresh Raina
6. Ajinkya Rahane
7. Ravichandran Ashwin
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
9. Ishant Sharma
10. Umesh Yadav
11. Mohammed Shami
12. Ravindra Jadeja
13. Ambati Rayudu
14. Axar Patel
15. Stuart Binny
DATE
|
MATCH
|
VENUE
|
TIME
|
Feb 14
|
Group A: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
|
Christchurch
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 14
|
Group A: Australia v England
|
Melbourne
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 15
|
Group B: South Africa v Zimbabwe
|
Hamilton
|
0630 IST
|
Feb 15
|
Group B: India vs Pakistan
|
Adelaide
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 16
|
Group B: Ireland v West Indies
|
Nelson
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 17
|
Group A: New Zealand v Scotland
|
Dunedin
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 18
|
Group A: Bangladesh v Afghanistan
|
Canberra
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 19
|
Group B: Zimbabwe v United Arab Emirates
|
Nelson
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 20
|
Group A: New Zealand v England
|
Wellington
|
0630 IST
|
Feb 21
|
Group B: Pakistan v West Indies
|
Christchurch
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 21
|
Group A: Australia v Bangladesh
|
Brisbane
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 22
|
Group A: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan
|
Dunedin
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 22
|
Group B: India v South Africa
|
Melbourne
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 23
|
Group A: England v Scotland
|
Christchurch
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 24
|
Group B: West Indies v Zimbabwe
|
Canberra
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 25
|
Group B: Ireland v United Arab Emirates
|
Brisbane
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 26
|
Group A: Afghanistan v Scotland
|
Dunedin
|
0330 IST
|
Feb 26
|
Group A: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh
|
Melbourne
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 27
|
Group B: South Africa v West Indies
|
Sydney
|
0900 IST
|
Feb 28
|
Group A: New Zealand v Australia
|
Auckland
|
0630 IST
|
Feb 28
|
Group B: India v United Arab Emirates
|
Perth
|
1200 IST
|
Mar 1
|
Group A: England v Sri Lanka
|
Wellington
|
0330 IST
|
Mar 1
|
Group B: Pakistan v Zimbabwe
|
Brisbane
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 3
|
Group B: South Africa v Ireland
|
Canberra
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 4
|
Group B: Pakistan v United Arab Emirates
|
Napier
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 4
|
Group A: Australia v Afghanistan
|
Perth
|
1200 IST
|
Mar 5
|
Group A: Bangladesh v Scotland
|
Nelson
|
0330 IST
|
Mar 6
|
Group B: India v West Indies
|
Perth
|
1200 IST
|
Mar 7
|
Group B: South Africa v Pakistan
|
Auckland
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 7
|
Group B: Zimbabwe v Ireland
|
Hobart
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 8
|
Group A: New Zealand v Afghanistan
|
Napier
|
0330 IST
|
Mar 8
|
Group A: Australia v Sri Lanka
|
Sydney
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 9
|
Group A: England v Bangladesh
|
Adelaide
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 10
|
Group B: India v Ireland
|
Hamilton
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 11
|
Group A: Sri Lanka v Scotland
|
Hobart
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 12
|
Group B: South Africa v United Arab Emirates
|
Wellington
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 13
|
Group A: New Zealand v Bangladesh
|
Hamilton
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 13
|
Group A: England v Afghanistan
|
Sydney
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 14
|
Group B: India v Zimbabwe
|
Auckland
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 14
|
Group A: Australia v Scotland
|
Hobart
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 15
|
Group B: West Indies v United Arab Emirates
|
Napier
|
0330 IST
|
Mar 15
|
Group B: Pakistan v Ireland
|
Adelaide
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 18
|
First Quarter-final
|
Sydney
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 19
|
Second Quarter-final
|
Melbourne
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 20
|
Third Quarter-final
|
Adelaide
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 21
|
Fourth Quarter-final
|
Wellington
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 24
|
First Semi-final
|
Auckland
|
0630 IST
|
Mar 26
|
Second Semi-final
|
Sydney
|
0900 IST
|
Mar 29
|
FINAL
|
Melbourne
|
0900 IST
|
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