Mitt Romney Will Not Run For President In 2016

After a three-week flirtation with another run for president, Mitt Romney said definitively on Friday that he will not seek the White House in 2016.

The Republican Party's 2012 nominee plans to tell supporters about his plans to pass on another national campaign during a conference call. He first let his staff know in a separate call that he was out of the race.

"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 said in a statement, which he planned to read to supporters on the call.

The former governor of Massachusetts had jumped back into the presidential discussion on Jan. 10, when he surprised a small group of former donors at a meeting in New York by telling them he was eyeing a third run for the White House.