ATLANTA (AP) — Almost two years after his Election Day drubbing, Mitt Romney is the Republican man in demand.

The twice-defeated White House contender is campaigning across seven states this week, covering nearly 6,000 miles in five days to raise money and energy for Republican midterm candidates from Georgia to Colorado.

Romney has repeatedly insisted he’s not running for president again, and his closest aides laugh off a possible 2016 bid. But top GOP strategists and donors suggest his continued high profile in Republican politics highlights the party’s murky future and a crowded 2016 field that is both flawed and without a clear front-runner

“There’s a vacuum,” said John Jordan, a major Republican donor based in California. “When there’s 10 people in a possible presidential field, it’s difficult for anyone to look presidential. None of these figures is overly compelling.”

Just a month before the unofficial beginning of the next presidential primary season, Democrats have already begun to rally behind prospective candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. The race for the Republican nomination, however, is as wide open as most political veterans can remember.