Romney no longer searching for anti-Trump candidate

Mitt Romney has closed the book on his efforts to woo an independent challenger to take on presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald TrumpDonald TrumpTHE MEMO: GOP breaks from Trump in 'wiretap' furor Shutdown politics return to the Senate Julie Andrews: Trump's proposed budget cuts to the arts ‘mind-boggling’ MORE and likely Democratic nominee Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonProgressive group frustrated with DNC over transition team Chelsea Clinton plans new children's book: 'She Persisted' Top Dems prep for future while out of the spotlight MORE.

Yahoo News reported that the 2012 GOP nominee, who convened a high-profile speech bashing Trump and calling for his defeat during the primaries, has stopped taking action on finding an independent candidate and won’t run himself.

“He thinks someone should run. That’s his role. That’s the beginning and end of it,” a Romney adviser told Yahoo.

“Is he organizing it? No. But he has talked to people who have thought about it.”

Another ally told Yahoo that Romney "is not now engaged in an effort to recruit a third-party candidate."

The news comes after a series of reports that Romney had reached out to Republicans Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.), among others. But those efforts have so far not come to fruition, and Kasich has ruled out a bid after ending his presidential campaign after losing to Trump in the Indiana primary. 

Each day that goes by makes the organizational challenge even greater as state ballot deadlines near.

And Erick Erickson, the founder of the conservative RedState.com who has also worked to find an independent candidate, told The Hill last week that the operation would need at least $250 million behind it.