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The future of the Confederate flag that flies on the grounds of South Carolina state capitol consumed the Republican Party’s presidential field on Saturday after Mitt Romney, its nominee for president in 2012, demanded its removal, calling it a “symbol of racial hatred.”

His unambiguous statement immediately intensified pressure on Republicans seeking the White House in 2016 to confront the thorny issue, which has long divided the state and bedeviled national candidates campaigning in it.

Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, weighed in on Saturday afternoon in a post on his Facebook page.

“My position on how to address the Confederate flag is clear,” Mr. Bush wrote. “In

Florida, we acted, moving the flag from the state grounds to a museum where it belonged.”

He added: “Following a period of mourning, there will rightly be a discussion among leaders in the state about how South Carolina should move forward and I’m confident they will do the right thing.”

Prior to Mr. Bush’s statement, none of the party’s 2016 presidential candidates had gone as far as Mr. Romney in demanding that the flag come down.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, however, demurred. In comments while he campaign in Iowa, Mr. Cruz said the flag is “a question for South Carolina. And the last thing they need is people from outside of the state coming in and dictating how they should resolve it.”

He later said, “I understand the passions that this debate evokes on both sides. Both those who see a history of racial oppression and a history of slavery, which is the original sin of our nation. And we fought a bloody civil war to expunge that sin. But I also understand those who want to remember the sacrifices of their ancestors and the traditions of their states — not the racial oppression, but the historical traditions. And I think often this issue is used as a wedge to try to divide people.”

Mr. Romney’s words were striking because many Republican leaders, including those now running for president, have seemed reluctant to discuss the role of race — and racism — in the killing of nine parishioners at a Charleston, S.C., church. And they stood out because Mr. Romney himself, as a candidate, struggled to connect with black voters in 2012, later blaming his loss in part on “gifts” that he said President Obama had given to minority voters.

On Saturday, Mr. Romney took to Twitter to issue a firm message about the flag and race.

Take down the #ConfederateFlag at the SC Capitol. To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred. Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims. — Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 20, 2015

With that, Mr. Romney became the most prominent Republican to make that demand since the Charleston shooting.

The issue is not entirely new for Mr. Romney. He spoke out against flying the Confederate flag as far back as 2008, when he first ran for president. “That flag shouldn’t be flown,” he said at the time. “That’s not a flag I recognize.”

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

