Political Wire

Christie Has a Romney Problem

· 13 Comments

Boston Globe: “Like Mitt Romney, Chris Christie is a blue-state governor in a Republican presidential primary. In choosing to adjust to meet the expectations of a more conservative audience, at a time when polls say voters crave authenticity, he has opened himself to attacks [that] he lacks core convictions. … Christie once supported national education standards, he’s now against them. After backing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, now he’s opposed.”

The New York Times notes Christie has overhauled “his policies to match a rhetorical swerve toward the pro-gun right.”

Romney Told Bush He Wasn’t Going to Win

· 59 Comments

Mitt Romney told the Washington Post that he confronted Jeb Bush with his fears about his candidacy a year ago: “Jeb, to be very honest, I think it’s very hard for you to post up against Hillary Clinton and to separate yourself from the difficulty of the W. years and compare them with the Clinton years.”

Bush responded by saying that “he was going to make his campaign about the future, not about the past.”

Recalled Romney: “I didn’t say anything at that point. But as he left, I said to myself, ‘Gosh, in my opinion, it’s not going to be as easy to make that separation as I think he gives the impression it will be.’ One of the few things I predicted that turned out to be true.”

James Hohmann: “Romney’s comments about Bush are damaging because he retains sway and influence with the very donors and voters that Bush needs to revive his campaign.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

· 43 Comments

“I had one person who was running for president, and I won’t give you the name… called me and said, ‘I hope you don’t close the door. We may need you.’ That’s a person running for president. A candidate. A Republican.”

— Mitt Romney, quoted by the Washington Post, adding that he’s “not giving it a second thought.”

Romney Douses Talk of Convention-Floor Comeback

· 28 Comments

Mitt Romney “did his best to squelch talk of a secret plan to again nominate him for president at next year’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland,” the Arizona Republic reports.

Said Romney: “Please let me know who’s doing that and I’ll have a word with them. I’m not running.”

He added: “There are a number of people who I support, who I think would be terrific presidents, whether it’s Jeb Bush or Chris Christie or Marco Rubio or Lindsey Graham or Carly Fiorina. The list goes on and on… We’re going to see how the process works out and I expect that we’re going to be very happy.”

Will Romney Play Kingmaker in New Hampshire?

· 32 Comments

Huffington Post: “The GOP race in New Hampshire, where all of the establishment-backed candidates are making their do-or-die stands has become — for now, at least — a battle for second place among a half-dozen contenders left in the front-runner’s dust. Trump has held a comfortable and consistent lead in New Hampshire since July. But a Suffolk poll last month showed that if Romney himself were a candidate, he would have a 2-to-1 lead over Trump in New Hampshire — where the former Massachusetts governor maintains a lakeside home and cruised to an easy victory in the 2012 primary.

“If Romney were to take that goodwill and back one of the establishment-friendly GOP contenders, Republican powerbrokers agree, it would upend the race’s dynamic and, in turn, reverberate far beyond the Granite State. But it’s less clear which candidate Romney would be inclined to get behind.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

· 25 Comments

“You know, there haven’t been a lot of people that have gone on from speaker to the White House, so I’d hate to lose him as a potential contender down the road for the White House.”

— Mitt Romney, in an interview on CNN, about Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) possibly becoming House Speaker.

Ex-Romney Aides United in Stopping Trump

· 33 Comments

Former aides to Mitt Romney “are curiously aligned once again in common cause, a stem-to-stern effort that has united old comrades even as they nominally play for different teams: stopping Donald Trump,” the Boston Globe reports.

Said one: “We are united. It’s a common goal and not just for Romney people, but for anyone invested in Republicanism, conservatism, and anyone who gives a flying [expletive] about what we’re trying to do here. Even if you’re not getting paid, this isn’t good for anybody.”

Trump’s Success Makes Romney Want to Run Again

· 140 Comments

“As Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican presidential race, frustration and panic have become high enough to make some inside the party Establishment pine for a candidate they roundly rejected as recently as January: Mitt Romney,” according to Gabriel Sherman.

Said on Romney insider: “Mitt wants to run. He never stopped wanting to run. These guys like Walker and Perry, they were big deals in their states, but you get them onto the national stage and it’s a different story. It’s like they were in middle school, and now they’re freshmen in high school and they’re getting their faces slammed in the toilets.”

Former Romney Aides Join Bush Team

· 19 Comments

Boston Globe: “Beth Myers, who was Romney’s chief of staff when he was governor of Massachusetts and campaign manager for his 2008 presidential run before serving as senior adviser on his 2012 bid, and Peter Flaherty, a State House aide who was deputy campaign manager in 2008 and a senior adviser in 2012, will endorse Bush and work as advisers, said the people briefed on the decision. The two are expected to help Bush prepare for the series of candidate debates that begins next month.”

Romney Will Meet with Bush Next Week

· 22 Comments

Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, will travel to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Me., early next week for a private lunch meeting with Jeb Bush, the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Romney is hosting two other presidential candidates — Gov Chris Christie of New Jersey and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida — at his summer home in Wolfeboro, N.H., this weekend.”

Romney Hosts Holiday Sleepover

· 21 Comments

Mitt Romney hosted two rival Republican presidential contenders at a holiday sleepover, the AP reports.

Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Marco Rubio “will both be staying over at Romney’s property in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire… the former governor and his wife opened their home to the Christie and Rubio families after hearing they would be in town for the holiday weekend. Both candidates are scheduled to march in Wolfeboro’s Fourth of July parade.”

Romney Wants to be the GOP Kingmaker

· 32 Comments

“Mitt Romney is asserting himself as a leader of the Republican Party at a time when the GOP lacks a true standard-bearer,” The Hill reports.

“As the huge field of Republican contenders begins the long slog to the party’s 2016 nomination, Romney is working to connect select candidates with his vast political network, urging the party to learn from his past mistakes, attacking Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and taking forceful stances on controversial issues.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

More about Taegan Goddard →