BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) – No fewer than a half-dozen potential presidential candidates are gathering in Florida as the Republican Governors Association prepares to select its next leader.
The organization’s annual conference begins Wednesday in a luxury oceanside resort where the nation’s Republican governors will celebrate their party’s recent success in the midterm elections. Privately, they’re jockeying for position as the 2016 presidential contest looms. None of the most likely White House candidates is expected to seek to replace New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as chairman, a position with responsibilities that would conflict with the presidential primary season.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said he would not run for the RGA chairmanship for just that reason.
“It’s pretty obvious at least it’s something I should consider,” Walker said of a White House bid during an interview with The Associated Press. “And if I’m going to do that, I’m not going to put my colleagues in the position of having someone in place who isn’t 100 percent committed to the leadership of the organization.”
The conference comes two weeks after the GOP’s midterm rout, in which they gained control of Congress and expanded their majority of governorships across the country. In January the Republican Party will control 31 compared with Democrats’ 19. The party’s strong performance offers a presidential springboard to governors who won re-election, Walker among them, and others, like Christie, who played a leading role in the GOP’s success.