Mitt Romney will address the conservative conference, the National Review reports. Report: Romney to speak at CPAC

He may be the symbol of what ails the GOP, but Republicans aren’t banishing Mitt Romney just yet.

Mitt Romney is returning to Washington and into the public eye again to speak at the Conservative Political Action conference next month, POLITICO confirmed after a report Wednesday by the National Review.


Romney has kept a low profile since the election, living at his La Jolla, Calif., home. The speech at CPAC will be his first public speech since his loss to President Barack Obama — he’s returned to Washington twice, once for lunch with Obama and another time for a luncheon in his honor with campaign donors and fundraisers.

( PHOTOS: CPAC 2012)

“The thousands gathered at CPAC this year are eager to hear from the former 2012 GOP presidential candidate at his first public appearance since the elections,” said ACU Chairman Al Cardenas. “We look forward to hearing Gov. Romney’s comments on the current state of affairs in America and the world, and his perspective on the future of the conservative movement.”

CPAC was where Romney announced in 2008 that he was dropping out of the GOP primary. It also was where he called himself “severely conservative” in 2012, a comment that dogged him the rest of the campaign.

Though Romney had a fraught relationship with social conservatives throughout the GOP primary last year, he’s won four CPAC straw polls in past years and has been a regular speaker at the annual conference.

The National Review reported that Romney’s speech will be “optimistic” and focus on economic issues.

The conference is scheduled for March 14-16 at National Harbor, Md.