We are now three weeks into the New Year, which means move aside 2015 — 2016 is the star. It’s the year when we finally get to have another presidential election, and not one of those boring ones where one of the candidates is an incumbent. We start with fresh contenders from both parties.
Well, I would use the word fresh for some candidates who may run, like Ben Carson for the Republicans or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, but we could possibly have one candidate who has soured quite a bit — yes, I am talking about Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Massachusetts.
If you haven’t heard, Romney has stated that he is seriously considering running for president again in 2016, despite unsuccessful attempts in 2008 and 2012. You can’t blame the guy though; he has significant qualifications that have prepared him to be president, the political muster to raise a lot of money and off-the-charts name recognition. There are a lot of factors in his favor that practically scream at him to run again.
But I’m not so eager. I’m putting my foot down: I do not want to see Romney take the Republican nomination again next year. If you dig deeper and really consider Romney’s impact as the Republican candidate, he has no chance of winning. They say the third time’s the charm, but there is something about Romney that doesn’t resonate with the majority of Americans. He is unelectable as a result. Maybe it’s that he is too rich. With the past few decade of liberal brainwashing, Americans have been taught to despise and resent those who have succeeded.
This works against people like Romney. Maybe it’s because he comes off as a robot. He doesn’t quite have the charm and charisma that a candidate like Barack Obama has, and it comes across as standoffish to some people. Whatever the reason, there’s an intrinsic quality to Romney that makes him undesirable to most voters.
Then there are the facts. For the Republicans to have a chance of taking the White House in 2016, they have to get women and minorities who voted for Obama in 2012 to select a Republican instead, and I seriously doubt they will do that if Romney is the candidate.
These voters had the opportunity to vote for Romney in 2012, but instead they went with Obama by an overwhelming margin. Romney won the battle with men at 52 percent and whites at 59 percent but lost the war with women voting for Obama at 55 percent, African-Americans at 93 percent and Hispanics at 71 percent. No longer in America can you win an election solely on the white vote. It takes an all-encompassing approach to be victorious, and I have serious reservations that Romney will be able to sway these voters with a message that attracts them.
With the economy finally recovering after many disastrous years under President Obama, I predict 2016 will be more focused on social progress and race relations; the impending collapse of programs like Social Security; and national security issues we currently face with the Islamic State group, Russia and North Korea. Romney is a candidate who will likely again focus heavily on the economy, which is important of course, but won’t be most important to voters in 2016. You can say he’s a candidate who doesn’t keep up with the times, and he won’t be able to persuade voters with appeals based on the economics.
Romney had a chance to win the Republican nomination in 2008 but lost against Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. Romney finally got the nomination in 2012 but lost to an unpopular president. His win in 2012 should have been secured, but he lost it by making the 47-percent comment, and because he never really explained how Romneycare differs from Obamacare.
Those setbacks won’t just disappear. Rather, they will become a problem once again in 2016. With all this to consider, how does Romney expect to face a popular candidate like Hillary Clinton and win? Simply put, he can’t. When you take into account the need for the Republican Party to get more minority votes, have a candidate whose main focus is on current issues and excites the base but also entices independent voters, it’s clear Romney isn’t the right choice.
Nick Eagle is an economics and political science senior.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 1/20/2015 under the headline “For 2016 election: Move over, Romney"]
