Mitt Romney's decision to
opt out of running for the White House in 2016 is generating gracious reaction from other potential contenders.
"After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I've decided it is best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee," Romney told supporters on a conference call.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is expected to make a bid, was one of the first to issue a reaction. He described Romney as a "patriot" on his
Facebook page.
"Mitt Romney has been a leader in our party for many years. There are few people who have worked harder to elect Republicans across the country than he has. Though I'm sure today's decision was not easy, I know that Mitt Romney will never stop advocating for renewing America's promise through upward mobility, encouraging free enterprise and strengthening our national defense.
"Mitt is a patriot and I join many in hoping his days of serving our nation and our party are not over. I look forward to working with him to ensure all Americans have a chance to rise up.
"Columba and I wish Mitt, Ann and their entire family the very best."
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul also wished Romney and his wife the best in a Twitter message, and in a second tweet said he looked forward to working with him to grow the GOP and lead the country forward.
And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has recently signaled he may have
2016 ambitions, said Romney "certainly earned the right to consider running",
MSNBC reported, and that "there hasn't been a day when I didn't think that Mitt Romney would have been a better president than Barack Obama."
Former Michigan Democrat Rep. John Dingell was less complimentary:
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