Romney tells donors he's considering 2016 bid

Washington (CNN)Mitt Romney told an audience of Republican donors in New York on Friday that he is seriously considering a third presidential bid.

"Mitt told the group of 30 or so guys that were there that he is considering a run for the White House and that they could go tell their friends," a source in the room told CNN.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the comments.

Though his loyalists and supportive donors have floated his name as a potential candidate for the better part of a year, Romney himself has been more reticent about mounting another White House bid after his 2008 and 2012 losses.

But Romney's outlook has changed in recent weeks, according to people who have spoken with him recently, and he seems to be more serious than ever before.