Reports: Mitt Romney is considering White House bid

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney told longtime supporters Friday that he is considering running for president again in 2016, according to several reports.

The Wall Street Journal, Politico and Washington Post reported that Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, told donors meeting in New York of his interest. The reports cite unnamed sources who attended the meeting.

Romney's move, after repeatedly saying he wasn't seeking the White House for a third time, could shake up the Republican field and comes as Jeb Bush has been taking steps toward a likely campaign for the White House.

As recently as October, Romney had said he was not running or planning on running for the White House. His wife, Ann, didn't rule out another campaign in a USA TODAY interview about the same time.

Earlier this week, Romney met with some of his top advisers and former campaign aides in California.

The Republican presidential race has been taking shape since Bush, the former Florida governor, said in December that he would "actively explore" a 2016 campaign. Since then, he has been assembling a national political operation and announced this week the launch of a leadership political action committee to support those activities.

Romney's declaration comes as the Republican Party's top fundraisers and operatives are being asked to get on board with candidates. Romney and Bush would likely compete for the some of the same donors. Charlie Spies, who served as treasurer of a pro-Romney super PAC in the 2012 campaign, is helping Bush with his Right to Rise PAC.

In several interviews since losing the 2012 race to President Obama, Romney had spoken highly of other Republicans being mentioned as potential candidates for 2016. He complimented Bush in a recent interview with Bloomberg politics, saying the former Florida governor is "an excellent person" who "could be a terrific president."

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