Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday dismissed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as "yesterday's news."
The likely 2016 rival previously endorsed Romney for president in 2012. But another run for the White House, which Romney described to former aides and supporters as likely, was one too many for the Kentucky Republican.
"If (Romney) runs to the right of Jeb Bush, he'll still be to the left of the rest of the party, so it may be a difficult spot to occupy," Paul told Fox News Radio. "Look, I like Governor Romney, I like him personally, I think he is a good person, I think he was a great businessman. But you know that's yesterday's news."
"He's tried twice - I don't really think that there is a third time out there," Paul added. "I think he did a lot of things right, but in the end you got to have a bigger constituency, you got to get new people, you got to attract new people to win and I think it's time that probably the party is going to be looking for something fresh and new."
The sentiment was shared by many conservatives gathered at the Heritage Action's Conservative Policy Summit in Washington, where Paul spoke earlier in the day. It was also echoed by another potential 2016 candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
"There are some who believe that the path to Republican victory is to run to the mushy middle, is to blur distinctions," Cruz said at the conference Monday, in response to a question about Romney. "I think that recent history has shown us that's not a path to success. It doesn't work. It's a failed electoral strategy."
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