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Former GOP nominee Mitt Romney told close supporters on a conference call on Friday that he will not run for president, saying that he wants to allow other leaders in the party to step forward.
Radio host Hugh Hewitt posted the Romney's prepared remarks for the teleconference announcing the decision on his web site.
Romney confidantes received an email asking them to join the potential candidate by phone Friday morning to discuss his intentions. He held two teleconferences to discuss the decision.
Some top Republicans had recently expressed skepticism about another presidential bid by the former Massachusetts governor, who failed to oust incumbent President Barack Obama in 2012. He was widely believed to have stepped away from presidential politics until early this year, when he told a meeting of donors that he was mulling another run.
He had also lost a number of past supporters to a new favorite of establishment Republicans - former Florida governor Jeb Bush.
The latest defection came Thursday, when Romney's two-time Iowa guru, operative David Kochel, signed on to be Bush's national campaign manager if Bush pursues a run.
Source:NBC News