Romney made clear his ambition for elected office has ended. Romney: 'I'm not going away'

Mitt Romney’s campaign ended, but he’s not getting out of politics.

Romney told top Washington bundlers, donors and senior campaign leadership in a meeting Friday morning that he would help out GOP candidates for governor in 2013, during the upcoming midterm elections and the 2016 presidential race, according to two people who attended the meeting.


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Romney also made clear his ambition for elected office has ended, according to another source present.

Romney has stayed out of the limelight since Election Day, leaving many to wonder if he would keep a lower profile or even leave politics all together.

“We lost, but I’m not going away,” Romney told the crowd, according to a person who attended the meeting. “I will continue to help.”

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The source also said Romney had been laying low deliberately after the election.

“[Romney] explained that he had been out of the news and that was purposeful,” said the source in the room. “He didn’t want to say something on the fiscal cliff and have the president use that as a wedge between the speaker and the minority leader… He said it wasn’t going to last for long and that he was going to come back and start talking about the things that matter to him.”

Individuals in the group thanked Romney for running and more than one Mormon backer praised Romney for showing their faith in another light.

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The meeting at the J.W. Marriott came before a larger lunch of nearly 100 people hosted by Catherine Reynolds and Bill Marriott, Jr. Romney’s wife Ann and his former running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his wife Janna Ryan also attended. Veteran Republican operatives Wayne Berman, Ed Gillespie, Jack Gerard, Ben Ginsberg, Bobbie and Bill Killberg, Bill Graves and David Beightol, among others were in the meeting.

Several Republican senators attended the lunch, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sens. Orrin Hatch (Utah), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Roy Blunt (Mo.).

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At the lunch, Ryan also spoke telling attendees that he was “grateful for the opportunity” and thanked the Romneys for “treating us like family.”

Romney also touted the policy successes of Republican governors across the country and encouraged finance operatives, particularly those who had engaged for the first time to remain active in the process.

Romney will also attend Alfalfa Club’s annual dinner Saturday night.