Romney wins the nomination in 2008...what about 2012?

Jim DeMint wouldn't be a bad way to go, actually. He's got ties to both the Tea Party/grassroots elements and the establishment. I'm pretty sure he fits the social conservative mold, too, doesn't he? He might have to fight for it, but I could see him doing well as long he doesn't bomb the debates.

Yeah. The candidates Roguebeaver mentions are some excellent ITTL alternative prospects to compare to DeMint:

Jeb Bush - great candidate on paper, ruined by his name
Barbour - too provincial
Daniels - another Pawlenty
Thune - he's sort of a blank canvas to draw upon, he would have to shift into a prominent role early in Obama's presidency
Ryan - is being built up into a major role, and isn't dragged down by many past policy stances; 2012 may be too soon, unless all others back out. If all others back out, he's exactly what Republicans are looking for.
Christie - makes perfect sense if he still wins the NJ governor election ITTL. His griping about 2016 in OTL makes it seem like he seriously considered 2012 and only reluctantly backed out. The Republican establishment loves him. His only drawback is that he is from the class of 2009, so if he wants establishment backing he'll have to defer to those ahead of him in line. This would be everybody but Ryan.

If I throw in DeMint, I would rate the non-OTL 2012 candidates DeMint > Christie > Thune > Ryan > Daniels > Barbour > J Bush
 
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If Romney had been nominated and lost to Obama in 2008, then he is probably done. Since the expansion of the primaries and caucuses beginning in 1972 to become the mechanism for nominating major-party presidential candidates (no more party bosses in smoke-filled rooms), no presidential election loser has being re-nominated or even bothered to run again.

Fmr Vice-President Al Gore decided against another run in 2004 and 2008. Fmr Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, who lost to Nixon in 1968, ran for the Democratic nomination in 1972, but started too late and lost to McGovern. Before 1972, a good candidate running in a very bad year for the party (Stevenson agains Eisenhower in 1952, Dewey against FDR in 1944) might get another shot, but it is rather unlikely now.

The 2012 Republican field would probably be similar to what it actually was...only without Romney (or even Huckebee since your TL assumes he did much less well in 2008 that OTL). Senator John Thune may get in, Gov. Haley Barbour may get in, Rudy Giuliani may get in. My guess is Pawlenty starts out as the Republican frontrunner by virtue of having been the VP candidate in 2008, though.
 
If I throw in DeMint, I would rate the non-OTL 2012 candidates DeMint > Christie > Thune > Ryan > Daniels > Barbour > J Bush

I think this is a pretty good summary of the Republican bench; it's a pretty strong one.

I'd probably rank them Christie / Ryan / Barbour / DeMint / Thune / Daniels / the proverbial "50 feet of crap" from Moneyball and then Jeb Bush, but one of the fun things about primaries is that candidates who seem awfully strong on paper can falter on the campaign trail. I would have gladly bet on Rick Perry as the 2012 Republican nominee back in 2011, before the primaries exposed him as being unable to count to three. Christie looks like a future President to me right now, but hey, who knows?

With that caveat, I think you're underrating Barbour and overrating DeMint, who's routinely rated as one of the most conservative Senators by the National Journal; that's going to get him a lot of enthusiasm in the primary but is going to be a tough sell on the general electorate in any year other than a Republican wave year.
 
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