Mitt Romney isn’t trying to steal the Republican presidential nomination from the four remaining candidates. He has made that much clear.
But the 2012 GOP nominee is nevertheless leaving the door open – just a crack – to the possibility of being drafted by his party at a contested convention in July.
“I don’t think anyone in our party should say, ‘Oh no, even if the people in the party wanted me to be the president, I would say no to it,’ ” Romney said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “No one’s going to say that.”
It’s a far-fetched scenario, to be sure, but it goes something like this: If through the primary process Republican front-runner Donald Trump fails to collect the majority of delegates needed to secure the nomination, the result would be a contested convention. And if, when delegates are free to vote as they please, none of the candidates is able to secure a majority, it is possible that an off-the-board name such as Romney’s could be entered for consideration.
The former Massachusetts governor said he is confident such a scenario won’t come to pass.
“I can guarantee you this: One of the people running for president – one of the four – is going to be the Republican Party nominee,” he added. “Three of the four are people I would endorse. But I’m not running, and I’m not going to be running.”
(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Callum Borchers
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3 Responses
If Mitt Rommel becomes the Republican nominee, I won’t vote for anyone. I’ll just leave it blank.
To be the candidate chosen by a deadlocked convention, someone would need to appeal to all the other candidates’ supporters including Trump’s supporters. Romney has made it clear he doesn’t want Trump supporters, which suggests he isn’t really serious about going back into politics. Remember that in 2012 he had the support of all those now supporting Cruz, Rubio and Kaisch – which explains why he is not now running for reelection.
If someone is trying to be an alternative to Trump in the eyes of Trump’s supporters, while also being acceptable to the other wings of the Republican party (economic conservatives, Tea partiers, Country Club/Wall Street Republicans, and social conservatives) that would indicatge the person is positioning themselves to be the “darkhorse” at a deadlocked convention.
Romney had his chance and he lost to an anti-American anti-Semite.