Mitt Romney was never a natural fit for Iowa.
But as the Republican Party wrestles with how to alter its nominating system in order to produce a less battered nominee in 2016, the former Massachusetts governor offers some advice in an interview with the Boston Globe: Move away from the complicated caucus.
Romney, who was pilloried during the GOP primaries by many Tea Party supporters, said the presidential nominating contest should be altered to diminish the influence of caucuses and encourage states to select candidates through broader primary elections.
“I’m concerned that there’s an effort on the part of some to move toward caucuses or conventions to select nominees, and I think that’s a mistake,” Romney said.
“I think we should reward those states that award delegates to the convention based upon primaries. Primaries are the place where you see whose message is connecting with the largest number of people,” he said.
A change this dramatic would implicitly alter Iowa’s role, which is persistently debated after each presidential campaign. But Romney said that was not his intention.
Romney’s plan would probably limit the strength of the Tea Party, whose activists have proved effective in caucuses, where they can rally their most ardent supporters. Romney said he was less concerned about diminishing the influence of Iowa, which holds strong to its tradition of having a caucus, than with other states moving in that direction.
“I’m concerned that that kind of approach could end up with a minority deciding who the nominee ought to be. And that I think would be a mistake,” he said. “I think we should have the majority of the party’s voters decide who they want as their nominee.”
There’s one candidate who comes immediately to mind that could feasibly embrace a caucus-free approach come 2016.
Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com
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