The Republican Party is so torn apart that now there are rumors and hints that 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, is reconsidering his decision not to run again, due to the collapse of the so called “Establishment” Republicans, led by former Governor Jeb Bush.
Bush has run a poor campaign, despite all of the money he has gathered, and there are indications that he is starting to be abandoned, as Donald Trump continues to take up all of the oxygen in the Republican race.
While Ohio Governor John Kaisch has made some progress in his campaign, he is far from being seen as anywhere near becoming a leader in the competition for the Presidency, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio has not impressed many in his quest for the nomination.
So Romney may decide to enter the race, but still with the same shortcomings and faults that caused his defeat by President Barack Obama in 2012.
To believe that Romney could, somehow, win the Presidency in 2016 is mostly hype and delusion.
The question arises: How many times has a defeated Presidential candidate come back to win the Presidency? Here are the facts, a total of 5 times:
Thomas Jefferson lost the Presidency in 1796 and won in 1800.
Andrew Jackson lost the Presidency in 1824 and won in 1828.
William Henry Harrison lost the Presidency in 1836 and won in 1840.
Grover Cleveland lost the Presidency in 1888 and won in 1892.
Richard Nixon lost the Presidency in 1960 and won in 1968.
That is it, five Presidents, but realize that Jackson and Cleveland actually won the popular vote in their losing races in 1824 and 1888, but lost the electoral vote, and Cleveland had been President, then lost, and then won.
Of course, there have been 4 times when a future President lost the nomination of his party, and then went on to win the Presidency later, including:
James Monroe lost the nomination in 1808 to James Madison, but then won the Presidency in 1816.
Lyndon B. Johnson lost the nomination in 1960 to John F. Kennedy, but then became President by succession in 1963.
Ronald Reagan lost the nomination in 1976 to Gerald Ford, but then won the Presidency in 1980.
George H. W. Bush lost the nomination in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, but then won the Presidency in 1988.
At the same time, there have been 5 candidates nominated multiple times and never winning the Presidency, as follows:
Charles C. Pinckney won the nomination in 1804 and 1808.
Henry Clay won the nomination in 1824, 1832, and 1844.
William Jennings Bryan won the nomination in 1896, 1900, and 1908.
Thomas E. Dewey won the nomination in 1944 and 1948.
Adlai E. Stevenson II won the nomination in 1952 and 1956.
Also being on the ballot for President multiple times were Socialist Party nominees Eugene V. Debs (1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1920) and Norman Thomas (1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948) and Ross Perot (Independent in 1992 and Reform Party in 1996).
In any case, the odds that Romney, if he ran for President, would become the Republican nominee and win the Presidency are very poor!