GOP immigration moderates wish Romney would self-deport from 2016 race

In interviews, Republicans lauded Romney’s leadership and expressed earnest regret that he didn’t defeat President Obama. But they say his hard line on immigration cost him votes in battleground states and damaged the GOP’s image with ethnic groups whose influence in presidential elections is significant and growing. Romney’s line that illegal immigrants should “self deport” still resonates — negatively. If a third Romney White House run means another 27 percent showing with Hispanics, many Republicans aren’t interested.

“I welcome him coming to the race; I think he’s a great candidate. I wish he would take a second look at the immigration issue,” said Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., who holds a suburban Denver swing district with a significant Hispanic bloc. “We have to fix the system and I think that merely saying everybody should ‘self deport’ is probably not going to get us through a general election.”

Since his first presidential bid in 2008, Republicans on the far right have questioned Romney’s authenticity and conservative credentials, tarring him as a flip-flopping moderate. But immigration has been the exception. In his first two bids, the former one-term Massachusetts governor, 67, was consistent in his opposition to comprehensive immigration reform policies that would legalize the residency of illegal immigrants and permit businesses to hire them.

Romney used his position on immigration as a cudgel in the 2012 GOP primary to fend off challengers who tried to outflank him on the right. He ridiculed outgoing Gov. Rick Perry for supporting state policies that permitted illegal immigrant children to attend public schools in Texas. Romney also criticized Newt Gingrich when the former House speaker said it was unrealistic and cruel to round up and deport the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the U.S.

Romney’s overall position on immigration was more complex. He emphasized support for legal immigration and commended the role that immigrants played in America’s emergence as a super power. He often noted his own family’s immigrant roots. But Republican strategists involved in the 2012 presidential campaign say Romney’s approach to illegal immigration hurt the GOP ticket in the general election. They don’t believe it would turn out any differently in 2016.

“We dug our own ditch on the immigration issue with the ‘self-deport’ comment and were never able to climb out of it,” a GOP operative said. “The main thing Hispanic voters took away from Romney during the 2012 campaign was that he didn’t seem to understand or value the contributions of immigrants to our economy or the American experience.”

In the past few days, Romney has been calling loyalists, campaign contributors and operatives from 2012, telling them he wants to run again and gauging their interest in getting the gang back together. Romney was spurred to action by Jeb Bush, the former two-term Florida governor and early frontrunner for the GOP nomination. In stark contrast to Romney, Bush has long supported comprehensive reform that legalizes undocumented immigrants.

Bush and Romney are competing for support among Republicans in the establishment and business communities who prioritize electability. Bush’s wife is Hispanic and he speaks fluent Spanish; his ability to attract more support from minorities could hurt Romney with the crowd that is focused on expanding the Republican Party’s appeal beyond white voters. A Republican consultant close to Romney declined to address immigration directly when contacted Wednesday.

“There will be plenty of time to discuss the issues if and when Mitt becomes a candidate, but until then, let’s give him room to make his decision first,” this GOP consultant said.

Since losing in 2012, Romney has signaled openness to reforms that would allow illegal immigrants to get right with the law and be eligible for employment. In one interview Romney said, “I do believe that those who come here illegally ought to have an opportunity to get in line with everybody else … and become a citizen if they’d like to.”

Conservative immigration hawks have noticed. One Republican concerned about Romney’s potential policy shift eagerly forwards clips of comments such as the one above to the Washington Examiner. A change of heart could complicate Romney’s ability to run to the right of Bush. But it would be a welcome development for those Republicans who believe that to win the presidency, it is imperative for the GOP to cultivate more support among Hispanics, Asians and others outside of the category of white men.

Analysts are not unanimous in their assessment of how Romney’s poor showing among Hispanics and other minorities affected his race against Obama. According to Roper Center data, Obama trounced Romney among all non-white ethnic groups, including African-Americans (93 percent to 6 percent), Hispanics (71 percent to 27 percent), Asians (73 percent to 26 percent), and other ethnic groups (58 percent to 38 percent). Those groups totaled nearly 30 percent of the electorate.

A Republican strategist with experience in national campaigns said the GOP is doomed in the battle for 270 Electoral College votes if it doesn’t broaden its appeal. This individual said it’s not just swing states like Colorado and Nevada where the party will suffer, but battlegrounds like Virginia, with emerging Hispanic populations.

This strategist said the 2016 GOP nominee doesn’t have to win the immigration debate; he just can’t replicate Romney’s lousy 2012 results and lose to the Democrat in “such a massive way.” With Romney threatening to pull the trigger for a third White House bid, Bush and other Republicans are already using this particular failure against him.

“I thought [Romney’s 2012] economic message was going to carry the day,” said Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who is all-in for Bush. “Instead what we saw was a shifting landscape nationally where we lost the youth vote, the women’s vote, the Hispanic vote, Asian-Americans. So, we’ve got to grow the tent and appeal to a wider variety, and I don’t know that Mitt is the messenger for that new GOP.”