Romney's Exit Shakes Up the 2016 GOP Chessboard
Jeb Bush will probably collect some of Mitt's chips—but Mitt's own analysis is that he was leaving an opening for another kind of candidate.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, right, talks with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush aboard his campaign plane on Oct. 31, 2012.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Mitt Romney's decision to exit the presidential race reshapes the contours of what remains a wide-open primary campaign, intensifying the competition for donors and staff among more than a dozen would-be rivals.
The most immediate beneficiary of Romney's departure from the race appeared to be former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who had already begun picking up key Romney aides and donors for his growing campaign. Romney's decision enables Bush to potentially gain many more, increasing the early monetary and strategic power of his growing operation.