Germaine James of Jonesboro worked her way through the crowd at the Varsity on Wednesday and hollered for Mitt Romney’s attention.
With Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens at his side, Romney, the two-time Republican presidential hopeful, had just ordered a hot dog with ketchup and mustard, onion rings and a Frosted Orange.
Romney spun around, facing a gaggle of cameras, and said, “I heard my name.” He lowered his head to James, who asked, “Are you going to run again in 2016?” Romney’s answer was clear: “No.”
James shook her head and walked away.
Later, after greeting a room full of Olens’ supporters, Romney told reporters the same thing he told James.
“I’m not running and I’m not planning on running,” he said.
The question was relevant again, as Romney did not exactly shoot down the idea in The New York Times Magazine on Sunday. Romney was quoted in that story as saying: “We’ve got a lot of people looking at the race. We’ll see what happens.”
Candidate or not, Romney can still draw a crowd. He carried Georgia against President Barack Obama in 2012, and several hundred people jammed into one of the Varsity’s seating areas to see him Wednesday. He shook every hand offered, and he took down that hot dog in about three bites.
He told reporters that Olens’ record for fighting sex trafficking and illegal drug use is a national model.
“He’s had a real agenda,” Romney said. “It has made a difference for the people of Georgia.”
Olens faces Democrat Greg Hecht in November.
Romney was also in Atlanta to raise money for U.S. Senate hopeful David Perdue. Romney said he and Perdue have known each other for years, since before the former Massachusetts governor was leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Perdue was CEO of Reebok, headquartered in the Bay State.
“I’m frankly proud of a guy who says you know I’m going to take the experience I have, go to Washington the way Washington was planned, where citizens become politicians as opposed to lifelong politicians who stay there their entire life,” Romney said.
Perdue’s campaign against Democrat Michelle Nunn could well decide which party controls the Senate in January, Romney said.
“Georgia may well decide if we have (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid running the country or if we have a breath of fresh air with an agenda focused on creating jobs and shrinking the federal deficit,” Romney said. “David Perdue becoming senator means we get new leadership in Washington.”
Nunn, after touring a local YMCA, said out-of-state endorsements won’t factor into the race in the long run.
“My message is about bipartisanship and working together,” Nunn said. “David Perdue’s is about more of the same.”
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