Mitt Romney considering another White House bid in 2016

Washington: The Republican presidential race has heated up with its former candidate Mitt Romney announcing that he is considering another run for the White House. Romney told a meeting of donors yesterday that he is considering another White House bid in 2016, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"Everybody in here can go tell your friends that I'm considering a run," he said yesterday at a private meeting in New York with about 30 former donors, the Politico said. Romney, 67, was the Republican nominee for the 2012 presidential elections and lost to US President Barack Obama, who was re-elected for his second term.

The announcement by Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts, has spiced up the Republican presidential race as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the son and brother of two former presidents, has already announced his intention to seek the party's primary nomination.

The move has also surprised many political analysts who had apparently thought that his career in politics was over.

Ryan Williams, a spokesman for Romney during the 2012 election, said he didn't see this coming.

"I'm very surprised, but pleasantly surprised. Mitt would make a great president. He would've made great president in 2012 and he'll be a good one if he runs again in 2016. I think many people who worked for him would be ready and eager to support him again if he decided to the run," he was quoted as saying by the Hill.

Romney, who had lost Republican primaries in 2008 to Senator John McCain, is currently near the top of most polls of potential Republican presidential candidates.

From the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State and the First Lady, is said to be the top contender for the party's presidential nominee.

Clinton, however, has not announced it yet. Many political analysts say Indian-American Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is also seeking to enter the Republican fray. But he has not announced it yet.

PTI