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The list of potential 2016 Republican candidates has changed again this week as Rep. Paul Ryan confirmed he will not join his colleagues in a run for president, instead focusing on his role as chairman of Ways and Means Committee. His former running mate on the other hand, Mitt Romney, may be close to confirming his name on the ballot.

"The people I've talked to say yes, this is for real, and Republicans have rewarded people for doing this in the past," Republican strategist and CBS News contributor Frank Luntz said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning." "Richard Nixon was unable to win in 1960 -- they renominated him in 1968. Ronald Reagan in 1976 almost won the nomination -- he comes back in 1980. George Herbert Walker Bush -- 1980 to '88."

Romney hasn't been clear in the past though. In October, he told CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes, "I'm not running."

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If former Governor Mitt Romney wins the 2016 presidential election, he will match President Richard Nixon in an historic and rare occurrence.

If he does confirm the decision, Luntz said he will have to address three areas that left supporters disappointed with a loss in 2012.

"First, on election night, they thought he was going to win. Paul Ryan thought he was going to win. What was wrong with his staff? With the input he was getting that he actually thought he was going to be successful, he's got to explain that," Luntz said.

As CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford reported in November 2012, Romney's team was shocked by the loss. They said his campaign became aware of problems on the afternoon of Election Day, when states started reporting huge turnout in areas favorable to President Obama.

In Ohio, for example, Romney's team missed the mark in several key areas; primarily underestimating African-American voter turnout and devaluing the need to implement neighborhood offices in the state.

"Second he's got to explain why he didn't defend himself," Luntz said. "He never talked about private equity, he never talked about jobs he created, he's going to have to do a better job there."

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Who's on the ever-changing 2016 Republican ticket?