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. [...] 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 The race for the Republican nomination, however, is as wide open as most political veterans can remember. The appearance was one leg in an aggressive five-day campaign swing covering some of the nation's premier midterm battlegrounds: Having swapped his private campaign plane for commercial travel, Romney is working long days to attend private fundraisers and public rallies to help leading Republican governors, Senate candidates and former allies like Olens. Hogan Gidley, a South Carolina-based veteran of presidential politics, explained Romney's appeal with a sports analogy. [...] Republican leaders have ignored recommendations to address key issues such as immigration legislation ahead of the next presidential contest.