Story highlights Mitt Romney is ending his efforts to recruit an independent 2016 candidate and won't run himself

Romney is a leader in the conservative "Never Trump" movement

Washington (CNN) Mitt Romney won't launch a third-party presidential campaign of his own and has stopped trying to recruit somebody else to do it.

The 2012 Republican nominee had attempted to recruit a challenger to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton . But prospects like Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said no, and Romney is now dropping his efforts, a source familiar with Romney's thinking told CNN. The news was first reported by Yahoo News.

It's the latest blow to the "Never Trump" movement -- a group of conservatives led by Romney, blogger Erick Erickson and The Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol -- to find an alternative to Trump.

Romney still hopes a candidate will emerge. But an adviser to the "Never Trump" efforts confirmed Tuesday night that the efforts are looking grim.

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