3:59 p.m. | Updated When Republican activists gather for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in March, a long roster of the party’s rising stars will be on hand.
Mitt Romney will be there, too, making his public debut after his bid for the White House fell short last year.
“We look forward to hearing Governor Romney’s comments on the current state of affairs in America and the world, and his perspective on the future of the conservative movement,†said Al Cardenas, chairman of the American onservative Union, the group that organizes the event.
Mr. Romney said he accepted the invitation because he wanted to express his gratitude to Republican activists who supported his presidential bid. His relationship with the party’s conservative leaders had often been strained, but his appearance is the next step in his plan to move beyond his defeat and steadily return to public life.
“I look forward to saying thank you to the many friends and supporters who were instrumental in helping my campaign,†Mr. Romney said Wednesday in a statement.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida will also be onstage at the event, organizers said, as will more than a dozen other leading Republicans, including Sarah Palin, the former gove! rnor of Alaska. The conference will sound the opening bell of the next election season, where Republicans are working to regroup and win control of the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016.
The Conservative Political Action Conference will be held March 14 to 16 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md.
