Story highlights Mitt Romney told donors Friday that he's considering a third presidential bid in 2016

His comments come in the wake of Jeb Bush's stepped-up political activity

Washington (CNN) Mitt Romney told an audience of Republican donors in New York on Friday that he is seriously considering a third presidential bid.

"Mitt told the group of 30 or so guys that were there that he is considering a run for the White House and that they could go tell their friends," a source in the room told CNN. The Wall Street Journal first reported the comments.

Though his loyalists and supportive donors have floated his name as a potential candidate for the better part of a year, Romney himself has been more reticent about mounting another White House bid after his 2008 and 2012 losses.

But Romney's outlook has changed in recent weeks, according to people who have spoken with him recently, and he seems to be more serious than ever before.

Romney has kept in close touch with his donors, many of whom have become close friends over two presidential cycles, according to one source close to Romney who was not at the meeting in New York but is familiar with his thinking. Romney hosts an annual retreat each year in Park City for policy discussions—and used the two most recent gatherings in 2013 and 2014 to introduce them to potential 2016 presidential candidates including Rand Paul and Chris Christie. (Jeb Bush was invited to speak last summer, but could not attend because of previous commitments, including his father's birthday).

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