There’s big news about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan just out – but not that news.
The two members of the 2012 Republican presidential ticket – Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan – both have big news out this afternoon, but not what you might have guessed.
Paul Ryan has just announced that he will not run for president in 2016.
The 44-year old U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin is reportedly quite happy with his new position, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a very influential and powerful role.Â
“I have decided that I am not going to run for president in 2016,” Ryan told NBC News, which reported he noted “he is ‘at peace’ with the decision he made ‘weeks ago’ to forgo a bid for the White House.”
“It is amazing the amount of encouragement I have gotten from people – from friends and supporters – but I feel like I am in a position to make a big difference where I am and I want to do that,” he said.
Meanwhile, his running mate, Mitt Romney dropped big news on Friday, telling donors that he was considering running for president yet again, a third time. According to the Washington Post today, Romney spent the weekend reaching out to influential Republicans.
Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, spending the weekend and Monday calling former aides, donors and other supporters — as well as onetime foes such as Newt Gingrich.
Romney’s message was that he is serious about making a 2016 presidential bid. He told one senior Republican he “almost certainly will†run in what would be his third campaign for the White House, this person said.
Over the past few days, Romney has been in touch with an array of key allies to discuss his potential 2016 campaign, according to people with knowledge of the calls. They include Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), his former vice presidential running mate; former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R); Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman; former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown; former Missouri senator Jim Talent; and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).
An important note that Romney reportedly made: he’s tacking right.
Romney has said he is intent on running to the right of Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who also is working aggressively to court donors and other party establishment figures for a 2016 bid. Romney has signaled to conservatives that, should he enter the race, he shares their views on immigration and on taxes — and that he will not run from party orthodoxy.
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