Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wanted to be clear on Saturday about his lack of aspirations for 2016: “I’m not running.”
Romney was speaking to a crowd in Mesa, Arizona in support of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) re-election campaign when he brought up reports and rumors about a plan to nominate the former Massachusetts governor for the 2016 presidential ticket, according to the Arizona Republic.
“Please let me know who’s doing that and I’ll have a word with them. I’m not running,” Romney told the crowd.
On Friday, BuzzFeed published an excerpt from reporter McKay Coppins’ book “The Wilderness” about “a small group of wealthy donors and die-hard loyalists … ready to win him the nomination from the convention floor.”
The Republican caucuses and primaries start Feb. 1 and the Republican National Convention is July 18-21.
Romney did not endorse a presidential candidate, either.
“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,” he said. “We’re going to see how the process works out and I expect that we’re going to be very happy.”