Former Governor and two time presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced this morning that he will not run for president in 2016. “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,” he said.
Romney took time in his announcement to take a stab at Jeb Bush, saying “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,” he told supporters. “In fact, I expect and hope that to be the case.”
Jeb was still magnanimous to Romney, posting on Facebook that he wished him well. “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,” he wrote. “Mitt is a patriot and I join many in hoping his days of serving our nation and our party are not over. I look forward to working with him to ensure all Americans have a chance to rise up.”
Now that Romney is out, many of the establishment GOP picks now face an easier time trying to clinch the nomination, with the primary beneficiaries being people such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who Romney took a meeting with after his announcement.
The conservative side of the potential field, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is unchanged.
“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,” Romney said. “But we believe it is for the best of the party and the nation.”
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