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Sen. Mitt Romney says President Donald Trump is "very likely" to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee if he runs. "I don't delude myself into thinking I have a big swath of the Republican Party," Romney, a two-time Republican presidential contender and 2012 presidential nominee, said in an interview with Politico. "It's hard to imagine anything that would derail his support," Romney said of Trump. "So if he wants to become the nominee in '24, I think he's very likely to achieve that."

Mitt Romney and Josh Hawley, polar opposites in today’s GOP, agree on one thing: Donald Trump’s status as Republican kingmaker. After the former president’s endorsement of a former critic rocketed J.D. Vance to the GOP Senate nomination in Ohio, the two senators can’t help but see things the same way. Hawley (R-Mo.), who led Trump-backed election challenges in the Senate last year, observed that “he’s the leader of the party, that’s clear … If he decides to run, he will be the nominee.” And while Romney twice voted to convict Trump in impeachment trials, speaking out against him more than...

Could this be a watershed week in the Republican presidential primary? Joe Scarborough seems to think so. On today's Morning Joe, he said something remarkable: that in the last week, stalwart conservatives and "Republican leaders" have told him that they would rather lose" than elect Mitt Romney. View the video here.

Sometimes it seems as if the GOP Establishment is sleepwalking off a cliff. In 1996, having scored the stunning victories of the off-year congressional elections, the GOP suits dutifully lined up behind the impossible Bob Dole. From the moment Americans realized their choices would be Clinton or Dole, "Bubba" was never behind one day in the polls. It's looking like déjà Dole all over again. Mitt Romney is the proverbial GOP next-in-liner. After the Tea Party helped Republicans score major victories in '10, the GOP Establishment is hunting desperately for a way to lose the very next election. Mitt Romney...

It's two weeks before the 2010 elections. Which means now's a fine time to start obsessing about the 2012 campaign. The next presidential race will unofficially begin on No. 3 -- the day after the midterm elections. It's possible we may not know the outcome of all the critical House and Senate races by then, and these races could determine which party controls the House and Senate. But once most of the 2010 votes are counted, the politerati will quickly pivot toward the next big thing. So let me get an early jump and tell you this: watch out for...

Our first national look at who Republicans would prefer as their 2012 Presidential nominee confirms the wide open nature of the field. The leading candidates are all within the margin of error of each other, with Mitt Romney leading at 28% followed by Mike Huckabee at 24% and Sarah Palin at 23%. Ron Paul pulls 11%, 9% say they're undecided, and 6% say their preference would be someone else. Romney's lead speaks to the fact that moderates could actually pick the GOP nominee in 2012. That's because there's gridlock among conservatives about who their preferred candidate is. Huckabee leads with...