Romney’s third run sparks competition among Republican 2016 presidential candidates
Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and beaten to the presidency by Barack Obama in 2012, is likely to launch a third bid for the White House in 2016
Three high-profile Republicans from the party’s mainstream are suddenly competing for the same group of elite donors and staffing talent after Mitt Romney’s move in the past week toward launching a third run for president next year elections.
And that list – Romney, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Florida governor Jeb Bush – doesn’t even include a group of Midwestern governors, led by Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, who also fit the mould of accomplished, economic-minded executives driven as much by a pragmatic approach to government as their conservative ideology.
In the race for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton has emerged as an early front runner, although she has not yet declared her candidacy.
Nor have any of the ambitious Republicans formally entered the race yet. But more than a dozen candidates are preparing for what is widely seen as a once-in-a-generation opportunity – an open White House and no Republican heir apparent with a claim to the nomination.
The abundance of Republican presidential prospects who put economic policy ahead of social issues comes after Republican congressional leaders succeeded last year in beating back primary challenges from tea party-affiliated candidates on the far right of the party as they reclaimed control of the Senate.
It also sets up a potential contest of mainstream Republicans not seen since 2000, when George W Bush was the favourite in a crowded field, or 1988, when then vice-president George HW Bush was the heavy favourite.