Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney is not planning to run for president any time soon.
Romney's chief of staff confirmed to KSL-TV that the 2012 presidential candidate is not planning to appear on a third-party bid in 2024, and Romney was not aware of a "Draft Romney Manchin Committee" filing that was opened with the Federal Elections Commission.
That FEC filing came before Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced he would not be running for reelection in 2024. The Associated Press reported that a group was pushing for Manchin to partner with Romney, who is also retiring from the Senate, to seek a third-party presidential bid. That group filed the paperwork to form a formal draft committee on Thursday.
#BREAKING@SenatorRomney's chief of staff says he's "not considering running for President on any ticket."
— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) November 10, 2023
An FEC filing was opened called the "Draft Romney Manchin Committee."
Romney's chief of staff says he was not aware of the effort, it's not known who is behind it. @KSL5TVpic.twitter.com/8Ex9xuRyzw
The AP said the draft committee pushing a Manchin-Romney ticket is planning to launch publicly next week along with a new website titled "America Back on Track," according to a person with direct knowledge of the committee who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal planning ahead of the launch.
The group told the AP it expects to build out presidential campaign infrastructure for Romney and Manchin and ultimately court No Labels delegates to win the nomination at its March 2024 convention in Dallas.
No Labels praised Manchin as a "tireless voice for America's commonsense majority" in a statement Thursday.
"Regarding our No Labels Unity presidential ticket, we are gathering input from our members across the country to understand the kind of leaders they would like to see in the White House. As we have said from the beginning, we will make a decision by early 2024 about whether we will nominate a Unity presidential ticket and who will be on it," the statement said.
