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 Romney's decision helps clarify an emerging Republican field split
between potential establishment candidates like former Florida
Governor Jeb Bush and conservative voices represented by Texas
Senator Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
The move will likely boost Bush, the brother of former President
George W. Bush and son of former President George H.W. Bush, even
though Romney has privately made known to aides he is not convinced
that Bush can defeat Hillary Clinton if she becomes the Democratic
presidential nominee.
But Romney's decision also helps other potential candidates such as
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was on Romney's vice presidential
short list in 2012; Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie, all of whom will have a better chance for
money and media attention with Romney on the sidelines.
The former Massachusetts governor felt he would win the Republican
presidential primary, a former adviser said. But Romney did not
think he would present a sufficient "new versus old" contrast for
the battle against Clinton, the former first lady, New York senator
and secretary of state, who is the early favorite for the Democratic
nomination.
 "He thinks Jeb would be a perfectly credible nominee but that there
are others who might be able to hold up that 'new versus old' banner
a little better," the former adviser said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, announced he would not run in a
statement he read to supporters in a conference call from New York.
"After putting considerable thought into making another run for
president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the
party the opportunity to become our next nominee," Romney said in
his statement.
He made clear he felt he would be able to raise enough money for a
campaign, rejecting a narrative that has grown in recent days as
some major 2012 fund-raisers expressed concern about another Romney
run.
Those fund-raisers said that since Romney opened the door to a
possible candidacy three weeks ago, he had not made clear how his
message and inner circle would improve in 2016.
'ALL IN FOR JEB BUSH'
"This means that I'm going to be all in for Jeb Bush," said Theresa
Kostrzewa, a Raleigh, North Carolina, Republican who raised money
for Romney in 2012.
She said Romney did a great service to the Republican Party by
dropping out.
"I think the message he got in the last three weeks was that
although many people believed he would’ve been a great president if
he had beaten Barack Obama, he didn't, so it's somebody else's turn
now," she said.
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In his statement, Romney sounded reluctant to bow out. He noted he
was leading in many national polls as well as in key swing states.
An average of recent polls by Real Clear Politics showed Romney with
20 percent support in the Republican field, with Bush coming in
second at 11 percent and others in single digits.
"So I am convinced that we could win the nomination but fully
realize it would have been a difficult test and a hard fight,"
Romney said.
He said he still believed he could present a strong message of
"making the world safer" and improving the U.S. economy for the
middle class, but he did not want to make it more difficult for
someone who might have a better chance of getting elected.
"I believe that one of our next generation of Republican leaders,
one who may not be as well known as I am today, one who has not yet
taken their message across the country, one who is just getting
started, may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat
nominee," he said.
Romney's decision could help create some space for lesser known
candidates.
"If you have Romney, Christie, Bush and maybe Scott Walker all
competing for the money and slugging it out for political operatives
in the states and all that, sometimes it hurts and makes you
weaker," said Republican strategist Charlie Black.
Many potential Romney rivals for the Republican nomination praised
him.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said he hoped to work with Romney in
the future. In a statement, Bush said he recognized how hard the
decision was for him.
"Mitt is a patriot, and I join many in hoping his days of serving
our nation and our party are not over," Bush said.
(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by John Whitesides,
Lisa Von Ahn and Jonathan Oatis)
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