Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah.) called on Republican donors to urge noncompetitive GOP presidential candidates to drop out of the race by February so former President Trump cannot run against a crowded field.
Opponents of Trump have consistently worried a crowded primary field could hand the contest to Trump, who has a big lead in GOP opinion polls in the primary today.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday, Romney suggests party donors should urge candidates whose paths to the nomination are effectively closed to drop out of the race by February 2024.
“There are incentives for no-hope candidates to overstay their prospects. Coming in behind first place may grease another run in four years or have market value of its own: Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum got paying gigs,” Romney wrote, referring to two rivals of his in the 2012 GOP presidential primary.
“And as former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu has observed, ‘It is fun running for president if you know you cannot win,’” he continued.
“Left to their own inclinations, expect several of the contenders to stay in the race for a long time,” Romney added. “They will split the non-Trump vote, giving him the prize. A plurality is all that is needed for winner-take-all primaries.”
Romney, who ran for president in 2008 and 2012, has been highly critical of Trump.
He warned donors not to think that GOP leaders will narrow the field of presidential contenders.
“Donors may think that party leaders can narrow the field. Not so. Candidates don’t listen to party officials, because voters don’t listen to them either,” he wrote. “And the last people who would ever encourage a candidate to withdraw are the campaign staff and consultants who want to keep their jobs for as long as possible.”
A group of contenders are trying to challenge Trump, including former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.