Mitt Romney has previously stated that he will not run for president again come 2016, but the former Republican nominee still seems to have a lot of support.

According to Reuters, associates of Romney say he is flattered by the support and still thinks he could have done a better job as president than President Barack Obama.

Romney has said, however, that after running in 2008 and 2012, he is not interested in trying again.

"I'm not running and I'm not planning on running," he said this week at Varsity, a restaurant in Atlanta. "I've got nothing to add to that story."

Former aides and friends of Romney think his campaign could stand a chance if a "powerhouse" Republican does not go after the nomination, according to Reuters.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was the Republican nominee in 2008, does not think Romney running would be a bad idea, but thinks he will only do it if he stands a good chance.

"I'm sure there are people who invested a lot in him last time who are urging him to consider it," McCain said Monday. "I think it's fine if he considers it, but at the same time I think Mitt would have to feel that he has a real strong shot at winning because it is such a very, very tough ordeal not only on the candidate but also on the family."

Karl Rove, a Republican strategist who helped Former President George W. Bush win his 2000 and 2004 elections, also said a third presidential run would exhaust Romney.

"If he were to do this again, it would be the equivalent of running three back-to-back-to-back marathons," he said Monday. "It would require basically a year's commitment to the primary and another year commitment to the general election. That's a hard thing to ask of anybody in politics."

An advantage Romney has, McCain said, is his popularity.

"One thing that he's got going for him is everybody in the Republican Party likes Mitt Romney," he explained. "They may not think he ran the best campaign, but he's such a very decent human being. He certainly checks the box for likeability amongst the Republican Party."

In an August poll by USA Today and Suffolk University, 35 percent of registered Republican participants from Iowa, where Romney just barely lost in the 2012 Republican caucuses, said they would "scrap their first choice" for him. Romney received a higher percentage of votes than any other potential candidate.

"Mitt's a smart enough guy to see that there are potential opportunities that are created by whatever happens to other people in the race," an anonymous former Romney aide explained. "I think the best way to characterize where Mitt is in the race is observing."

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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