News Digest

Mitt Romney rules himself out of the 2016 race for the White House

Republican Mitt Romney revealed he is not running for the White House in 2016, in a surprise announcement on Friday. The former Massachusetts governor told members of his staff during a conference call from New York that he will not be a candidate. Romney (pictured above), who lost his bid to beat President Barack Obama in 2012, said in a statement: “I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee.”

I do not want to make it more difficult for someone else to emerge who may have a better chance of becoming that president.

Mitt Romney

The news comes just three weeks after he told a small group of donors in New York that he was considering a third campaign for the White House. But since then key supporters and fundraisers have pledged allegiance to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is exploring a potential presidential run. Romney left political commentators guessing who he might back as he said: “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.”