Ann Romney on Tuesday did not rule out a third presidential bid for her husband, Mitt, if former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) decides not to enter the 2016 race.
“Well, we will see, won’t we, Neil?” she said, when Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked about the possibility. “I think Jeb probably will end up running myself. … He’s probably looking at it very carefully right now.”
{mosads}Romney later said and her husband have no plans “at this point” to run again. Bush and the former Massachusetts governor draw support from a similar base, she said.
Speculation has swirled about a third run for Romney with a wide-open field for the Republican nod in early polling, but the most recent nominee has continuously ruled it out.
Ann Romney has been a driving force in her husband’s political career in the past. She was reportedly only one of two members of the Romney family to initially push to have her husband run a second time in 2012.
Romney told Cavuto she would “love to see” a female GOP contender, naming South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.
“I’d love to see more women participate,” she said.
During the interview, Romney also criticized Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz’s (D-Fla.) comments as offensive, after the DNC chief was forced to apologize for comparing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) policies to domestic violence.
“It’s ridiculous, honestly,” Romney said. “I mean, I don’t think they’re getting very far with that, by the way. It’s not going to work. I think women are a lot smarter than that. And that’s kind of offensive to me, to tell you the truth.”
— Updated 8:55 p.m.