Mitt Romney Knows You Want Him To Run, But He Won’t Do It

With Governor Rick Perry indicted on two felony charges, Republicans are likely searching for a new 2016 candidate. Members of the GOP may be tempted to look to 2012 candidate Mitt Romney as their next great hope. According to Romney and his advisors, that hope is misplaced.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Romney and his advisors are adamantly denying even the possibility that Romney may run for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination. According to advisors, Romney enjoyed running for President in 2012 despite his loss to President Barack Obama, but has no plans to repeat the endeavor. Instead, Romney has focused on helping Republicans win state elections in a bid to take over the United States Senate during the 2014 midterm elections.

Whether or not Romney intends on running may not matter. According to a CNN poll, Mitt Romney is not the front runner for the Republican nomination. The poll, which was conducted over the telephone from May to June of 2014, targeted respondents who identified as either Republican or Independents leaning Republican. According to the poll, the front runner for the Republican nomination is Kentucky Senator Rand Paul followed closely by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Romney was not among the names read to respondents during the poll, likely because he has insisted he will not run. However, respondents had the opportunity to name a candidate of their own. Only 6% said they would vote for another candidate.

The rumor that Romney will soon announce his candidacy for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination has been persistent despite repeated denials from Romney and his former advisors. The genesis of the rumor might be a poll. As reported by The Inquisitr, a recent poll revealed that if the 2012 Presidential election were done over in present day, Romney would win by a nine point margin.

Despite Romney’s repeated denials, Republican voters have yet to give up hope. James Evans, the chairman of the Utah Republican Party created a website called DraftMitt.org. The website is home to a petition intended to compel Mitt Romney to run for President in the 2016 election. Currently, the petition has over 118,000 signatures.

Spencer Zwick, finance chair of Romney’s 2012 Presidential election bid, indicated that Romeny and his advisors know about the draft petition. Zwick called the draft petition a distraction. In an interview with the Desert News, Zwick said “Look, the focus needs to be on the midterm elections. That’s what Mitt is doing,” he continued by saying the organization had no merit.

Meanwhile, Romney is still on the campaign trail, this time helping other Republican candidates throughout the country.