Mitt Romney ‘Kingmaker’? New Hampshire Return Planned

Mitt Romney, “Kingmaker”? One political expert admits it’s a possibility.

The former presidential candidate will return to politics in August as part of a fundraiser for the New Hampshire GOP, according to a late Thursday report from Deseret News.

Romney has kept quite the low profile following his defeat in the 2012 presidential election, and sightings have been on par with the Loch Ness Monster, so any chance to see him, let alone listen to him speak, is a big deal.

However, the share prices on what a Romney appearance brings in has taken a bit of a tumble since he was last in the spotlight. The price tag for the New Hampshire fundraiser is just $100 per person. (He commanded as much as $25,000 per person on the campaign trail.)

University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala insisted that this price drop is normal for the type of appearance that Mitt Romney will be making. “I think the tendency is not to charge an arm and a leg for these types of things because of the grass-roots reputation of the state … They want to attract activists.”

Romney will headline the event, which is being held near his lakeside summer home at Wolfeboro. The event is being called “An Evening With Gov. Mitt Romney,” but Scala is pretty sure no further political implications should be inferred.

“I don’t think it forecasts any kind of big move on Romney’s part,” Scala said. It’s “more just a ‘thank you’ and returning of favors.” Considering that Romney himself wasn’t too keen on the idea of a presidential run in the first place, we’re not holding our breath for a return either.

Still, Scala noted, if Romney does return to the political scene on a more consistent basis, it will probably be because he’s “looking for more of a kingmaker, behind-the-scenes type of role.”

One place where Mitt Romney has continued in popularity since November has been in the nation of Kenya — at least, his campaign gear has.

Hundreds of pieces of Romney gear were donated to the Orbit Village Project school, located in Nairobi. The Inquisitr reported on the story this week, noting that the gear came from the Knox County Romney Campaign of Tennessee, who “thought it would be a waste to send the clothes to a landfill or storage unit.”

What are your feelings about Mitt Romney as a “Kingmaker” and in general — have they improved, stayed the same, or gotten worse since President Obama’s reelection?

[Image via spirit of america / Shutterstock.com]