Romney-Ryan network revives to influence 2024 election

A moderate and well-funded network led by the former 2012 Republican presidential ticket of Sen. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Paul Ryan is teaming up to influence the 2024 election and today’s politics.

With an eye on pushing former President Donald Trump to the sidelines, the duo’s allies of donors and influencers are meeting in Park City, Utah today to push for new GOP leadership and hear from a series of Republican presidential candidates that apparently agree.

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The candidates slated to speak to about 250 are Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Ryan told Secrets that the E2 Summit, named for “experts and enthusiasts,” is his way to jazz up Republicans looking for a new party leader.

“There’s a vacuum of leadership right now which underscores the importance of bringing together an array of key voices for serious and substantive conversations about the challenges we face and how they can be addressed,” he said of the summit that he is hosting.

“The individuals speaking at E2 this week — from elected officials, political candidates, top policy minds, military and national security experts, leading CEOs, and others at the forefront of their respective fields — all offer unique perspectives and innovative ideas that will allow us to work towards solving these problems and improving the country’s future outlook,” Ryan added.

The summit was once a Romney affair and Ryan has revived it. The two were the 2012 Republican presidential ticket. They lost to former President Barack Obama who won a second term. Romney has said that he does not plan to run for reelection.

In his comments to Secrets, Ryan focused on Biden not Trump, who he has criticized, as has Romney.

“Joe Biden’s agenda is holding America back. His policies have led to soaring debt and higher inflation, hurting families and undermining confidence in our economy. Republicans have the opportunity to defeat him in next year’s election if our party follows the lead of the candidates who are attending this summit and focuses on sharing an optimistic, pro-growth, conservative vision for America in the mold of Ronald Reagan that is rooted in serious leadership and responsible governance,” said the former House speaker.

The summit, held behind closed doors, is a Ryan bid to expand the party’s consideration of policy beyond just conservative solutions. The comments are considered “off-the-record” to allow candidates and others to speak freely.

It comes at a time that Trump is dominating the 2024 race and Democrats are looking for alternatives to Biden.

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Among the non-candidates speaking are Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Trump national security advisor Robert C. O’Brien and Scale AI CEO Alex Wang.

Ryan is a partner at Solamere Capital, a private equity firm founded by Eric Scheuermann, Tagg Romney, and Spencer Zwick that helped organize the summit.

He said, “It’s an honor for me to be hosting this important summit alongside my good friend Mitt Romney, the team at Solamere Capital, and the esteemed network of supporters who are industry leaders in their own right and carry significant influence in determining the future direction of the country.”