With the announcement Friday that he will not run for president in 2016, Mitt Romney is suddenly the most popular man in Republican politics.
Likely Republican candidates for president lined up to offer their praise for Romney, but not without agenda: Romney’s endorsement will be highly sought in the severely competitive primary race to come.
In a statement, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who likely would have been Romney’s most imposing rival for the Republican nomination, called Romney “a patriot.”
Others followed suit.
“I hope to work together with Mitt to grow our party and lead our country forward,” Sen. Rand Paul tweeted.
The effusive statements are only the very beginning of a brown-nosing process that will likely stretch for months, as potential candidates try to win over Romney and, by extension, those Republicans who supported him.
“I think he’ll take an active role in the process of facilitating meetings and meeting with all of the candidates,” said Jim Merrill, a senior adviser to Romney’s 2012 bid.
Romney, of course, might choose not to endorse — but the early indications are that he will.
“I believe a Republican winning back the White House is essential for our country, and I will do whatever I can to make that happen,” Romney said in his statement announcing he would not run.
Recent history has shown Romney to be willing to wade even into competitive Republican primaries, as with his endorsement last year of Joni Ernst, who went on to win her party’s nomination and then the Iowa Senate seat that was up for grabs.
“He has weighed in to competitive primaries before and done it successfully,” said Ryan Williams, a former Romney aide. “Whether or not he’ll do that in a presidential primary is an open question.”
A party’s former nominee often plays the role of elder statesman, endorsing a candidate once it has become relatively clear that he is heading toward victory, rather than making a decision when the contest is still competitive.
In that model, President George W. Bush did not endorse Sen. John McCain to succeed him until May 2008, when McCain had essentially wrapped up the nomination.
McCain took a different approach in 2012, however, and endorsed Romney for president prior to the key New Hampshire primary vote, when the race was still up for grabs.
But this Republican presidential primary field will be among the most competitive in many years, likely complicating the endorsement process for a party bigwig such as Romney.
Romney hinted at in his statement Friday at what he might look for in a Republican contender.
“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,” Romney said. “In fact, I expect and hope that to be the case.”
Some Republicans interpreted that remark as a dig at Bush, who is quite “well known” and not, arguably, “just getting started,” although he has not been his party’s nominee for the presidency before.
Among some of the upstart candidates, the race to win Romney’s approval has already begun.
“Had a great conversation w/ @MittRomney,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tweeted Friday afternoon. “He’s a good man. Thanked him for his interest in opening the door for fresh leadership in America.”
Friday night, Gov. Chris Christie will dine with Romney. An aide to Christie would offer no further details of that engagement.
But whoever wins, Romney, if the decision comes anytime soon, likely won’t make it public for many months to come. The timing of an endorsement can be as important as the endorsement itself: The rollout must be deliberately planned, and the timing must not squash the candidate’s own introduction on the national stage.
“Do you seek his endorsement? Yes,” said one Republican operative with ties to a likely presidential campaign. “Do you want it now? No.”
