WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 25: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) attends the confirmation hearing for Vivek Murthy and Rachel Levine before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee February 25, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Murthy is nominated to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service ands U.S. Surgeon General and Levine is nominated to be Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services. (Photo by Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images)
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is urging GOP donors urge non-competitive Republican presidential candidates to drop out of the race by February so that Donald Trump does not win by default running in a crowded field. Trump’s opponents worry that running against too many candidates will hand him the presidency.
“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 a market value of its own: Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum got playing gigs,” Romney wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published on Monday, recalling two of his GOP rivals during the 2012 presidential primaries.
“Left to their own inclinations, expect several of the contenders to stay in the race for a long time,” Romney continued. “They will split the non-Trump vote, giving him the prize. A plurality is all that is needed for winner-take-all primaries.”
The group of GOP officials attempting to challenge Trump includes Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others.
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