Republican insiders seem convinced that Mitt Romney is running for the third term for president in 2016.
Mitt Romney held meetings with donors in New York on Monday where he met with key financial backers of his past campaigns to lay the groundwork for a 2016 White House bid, a source who attended the meeting told the Business Insider.
Attendees included developer Stephen Ross, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, and hedge funders Julian Robertson and Paul Singer.
Mitt Romney held meetings with donors in New York this week that left one attendee convinced he is running for president again in 2016.
A member of Romney’s inner circle who spoke to Business Insider said the former governor of Massachusetts traveled to New York City on Monday where he met with key financial backers of his past campaigns to lay the groundwork for a 2016 White House bid.
The source, who was at one of the meetings, said other attendees included developer Stephen Ross, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, and hedge funders Julian Robertson and Paul Singer. In addition to potential donors, the source said Romney met with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) this week.
In October, The Washington Post reported on a “flurry of behind-the-scenes activity” that Romney’s “friends” said was leading him to “more seriously consider” running for president again.
Publicly, Romney has insisted he has no interest in a third presidential campaign. In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt in August, Romney said he “loved running for president,” but his past losses made him think another Republican might have a “better shot.”
H did, however, indicate that “circumstances can change.”
“Let’s say all the guys that were running all came together and said, ‘Hey, we’ve decided we can’t do it, you must do it.’ That’s the one of the million we’re thinking about,” said Romney.
Recent polls show Romney leading the GOP pack in 2016, and that he is the only Republican candidates that could beat Hillary Clinton.
