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Mitt Romney 2016: Defeated Republican candidate ready for third run at White House

Jan 13, 2015

According to recent reports, Mitt Romney has been reviving his national network of political supporters and donors for a third run at the White House in 2016.

One Republican source told the Washington Post the defeated 2012 candidate “almost certainly will” launch a 2016 presidential campaign.

Last week Mitt Romney told Republican donors in New York he was interested in running.

If he does, he could be up against Jeb Bush for the party nomination and then Hillary Clinton in a general election.

The Washington media is abuzz with reports that Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has spent the past few days reaching out to political allies and potential sources of campaign funding.

The Post reports that Mitt Romeny’s wife Ann has come round to the idea, although there are still some reservations among his five sons.

Photo AP

Few families can know as well as the Romneys what is involved.

In 2008, their father and husband won some of the Republican primary contests but was beaten by John McCain.

Four years later, Mitt Romney fell at the final hurdle, losing in the presidential election to Barack Obama, who decisively secured victory and his second term.

Mitt Romney’s campaign was criticized for alienating Hispanics and not connecting sufficiently with ordinary people.

According to Politico, Mitt Romney is determined to learn from past mistakes and is thinking about making helping the poor a central theme of any campaign.

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and brother of former president, George W. Bush, declared he is actively exploring a potential run.

Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush could be competing both for the same financial backers and for the Republican middle ground.

2016 possible candidates

No-one has formally declared but these are some of the names to watch: