Paul Singer

USA TODAY

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said Friday he believes the nation should raise the minimum wage, breaking from House Republicans who have resisted an increase.

"I part company with many of the conservatives in my party on the issue of the minimum wage. I think we ought to raise it," Romney said during an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Romney said raising the minimum wage is part of a message the party needs to reinforce in outreach to black and Hispanic voters. "Our party is all about more jobs and better pay," Romney said, while under Democratic control, income inequality has gotten worse.

Democrats have been pushing for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 as part of an election-year agenda to emphasize the needs of working and middle-class Americans. Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a minimum wage bill last week, and House Republicans have said they have no plan to hold a vote on a minimum wage bill.

Romney had been a supporter of raising the minimum wage prior to his presidential bid, but in March 2012 in the face of conservative opposition, he said "there's probably not a need to raise the minimum wage."

Romney also said during Friday's interview that he does not plan to run for president again, despite his recently increased public profile.

"I'm not running for president in 2016," Romney said. Republicans' "best prospects for getting back the White House are with someone who has not run twice before, as I have."