Mitt Romney has shot to the top of GOP primary polls, but the potential for his third presidential bid isn’t playing as well among Republican Party leaders and activists who are no longer sold on him, and say he’s far from a shoo-in to win their nomination again.
Some of his old allies say they are hungry for a Romney redux, but his 2012 congressional allies are keeping him at arms length, and grass-roots conservative activists are less than pleased with the prospect of a repeat performance from a man they tried to block from getting the nomination, and then watched as he lost what many of them thought was a winnable election to President Obama.
That serves as backdrop Friday for when Mr. Romney will speak to at a dinner gathering of the Republican National Committee, which is meeting in San Diego to hash out final details of the 2016 presidential process. The speech will be Mr. Romney’s first public remarks since telling donors a week ago that he is seriously considering another run.
“Speaking of appetites, I lost mine when I saw he was going to be our guest speaker at Friday’s dinner,” said Diana Orrick, an RNC member from Nevada. “The only thing I can say about Mitt Romney running again is it is the definition of insanity: When you do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.”
Other party officials said Mr. Romney remains a powerful force within the GOP, but said this year’s nomination remains wide-open.
“Governor Romney would enter the race as a very strong candidate and it probably will dissuade some others from getting in,” said Steve Duprey, a member of the Republican National Committee from New Hampshire. “Just being our past nominee, however, won’t guarantee a win because we have lots of good candidates with some great ideas for this country.”
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“It would be great to have him in the race,” he added. “There are a lot of Americans who would vote for him for president this time who might not have in 2012.”
A poll last week showed Mr. Romney leading the rest of the GOP field in Iowa, which kicks off the primary calendar with its caucuses. He garners 21 percent of potential voters’ support, compared to 14 percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and 10 percent for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Will Rogers, chairman of the Polk County GOP in Iowa, said voters have questions over how Mr. Romney managed to lose to Mr. Obama in 2012, and what his motives are for jumping in this time.
“There also are a lot of people who are really questioning is this really about him running or about him throwing water on Jeb Bush,” Mr. Rogers said. “The scuttlebutt is that they don’t have a great relationship.”
Mr. Rogers also said voters tell him that they want to see the “real Romney” — not the guy who came off as too stiff and overly scripted on the campaign trail and in two of the three debates with Mr. Obama.
Mr. Obama trounced Mr. Romney in the Electoral College vote, winning 332-206 while carrying 26 states and the District of Columbia, compared to Mr. Romney’s 24 states. In the popular vote, Mr. Obama topped Mr. Romney 51-47.
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Gloria Mazza, executive director of the Polk County GOP, who backed Mr. Romney in 2012, said she was surprised he is thinking about running again, and still feels he would make a good president — though she stopped short of endorsing him.
“If he was our candidate I would be 1,000 percent behind him like I was before, but I am going in with open eyes like everybody else,” she said.
Some of Mr. Romney’s supporters on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, have been lukewarm about his possible return.
For instance, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who bested Mr. Romney to be the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2008 then supported his erstwhile opponent in 2012, said he is “open” to backing Mr. Romney, but that he also is fond of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is considering a bid.
Mr. Romney won the 2012 nomination amid a relatively weak field, and analysts predict the next time around will be far more competitive.
Mrs. Orrick, the RNC member from Nevada, supported Rep. Ron Paul’s campaign in 2012 and said she plans to support his son, Sen. Rand Paul, this time around.
The senator panned the idea of a Romney run this week during a swing through New Hampshire, which is home to the kick-off primary.
“A couple of months ago he said that he’d had his chance and it was time for somebody new,” Mr. Paul told the New Hampshire Journal. “He was probably right when he said that. I think we do need somebody and something new,” Mr. Paul said.
Mr. Romney’s supporters, though, say that kind of “fresh face” argument won’t resonate with voters.
“Does that have merit for the average voter? I don’t think is does,” said New Hampshire state Sen. Jeb Bradley, who plans to back Mr. Romney again if he runs. “You know Ronald Reagan ran for president three times too, didn’t give up, stuck to it, and was a great president.”
Mr. Bradley also said Mr. Romney would benefit from the buyer’s remorse of voters that backed Mr. Obama.
“I think that there is a reservoir of good will [for Mr. Romney] from a lot of voters who voted for President Obama that regret the decision,” he said. “I think most of his backers would encourage him to run — those of us who worked hard for him in 2012.”
Fellow New Hampshire state Sen. Sharon Carson is more reluctant to immediately jump back on the Romney bandwagon.
“I think it is a little too early for me to commit to anyone candidate,” Ms. Carson said. “This is a different election. We have a lot of people that are thinking about running for president and I want to hear what they have to say.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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