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This article is more than 5 years old

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Michigan governor Rick Snyder may be the newest GOP candidate for the White House.

Snyder mingled with donors at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas on Friday and told at least one attendee that he was a candidate.

On Saturday morning, the former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman told reporters: “I met with Rick Snyder yesterday. He’s running. He’s running.”

In a talk with the RJC board, Snyder himself was not as explicit. Ari Fleischer, a board member and former spokesman for President George W Bush, told the Guardian: “[He] didn’t say to the board that he was running. He made a real strong presentation about his results and successes in Michigan.”

Fleischer added: “You have to wonder why people to come to our meetings and it’s probably because he’s thinking of running.”

Snyder, who was recently re-elected for a second term, is a business-oriented and comparatively socially moderate Republican. A former president and chairman of the board of the computer company Gateway, he won a Republican state primary in 2010 as a first-time candidate and underdog who ran as “One Tough Nerd”. He now uses the phrase as his Twitter handle.

In office, Snyder has pushed legislation to put Detroit under emergency bankruptcy management and signed a controversial “right to work” bill that greatly restricted the ability of unions in Michigan to collect dues from members.

Jarrod Agen, a spokesman for Snyder, told the Guardian in an email: “Governor Snyder is traveling the country to tell the remarkable Michigan comeback story. The country can learn from the historic reinvention of Michigan and the governor is helping change the perception of the state nationally.”

Agen went on to say that “the feedback to Gov[ernor] Snyder at the RJC was excellent and created a lot of buzz. The governor indicated that he’s watching the presidential race closely and hoping a common sense problem solver emerges, but he has not made any decisions about entering the field at this time.”

A Republican consultant familiar with Michigan politics told the Guardian: “If he does run for president, Snyder has a record with serious appeal. He’s an effective governor and excellent campaigner.”

The operative pointed to Snyder’s 2010 win in a crowded primary field as proof of the appeal of a man not known for his charisma.

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“For anyone who doubts Snyder’s ability to connect with voters and win,” the operative said, “I’d point you to his 2010 race where he wasn’t even out polling the margin of error at the beginning, yet went on to an historic victory.”

Snyder would join an already crowded field. While only a handful of candidates have formally declared – senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio leading the way – more than a dozen other Republican candidates are taking steps towards running. The field ranges from former Florida governor Jeb Bush to the renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

In moving towards a run, Snyder follows Scott Walker of Wisconsin as a midwestern Republican governor with a tough record on union relations focusing his ambitions on the White House.