Breaking: Mitt Romney Will Not Be Seeking Re-Election for US Senate Seat
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah announced Wednesday that he will not be seeking a second term next year.
“I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-eighties. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in,” Romney said in a statement according to Fox News.
Romney took time for parting shots at the leading presidential candidates of both parties.
🚨 BREAKING: Mitt Romney says he will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 13, 2023
“We face critical challenges — mounting national debt, climate change, and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront them,” Romney said.
“On the deficits and debt, both men refuse to address entitlements even though they represent two-thirds of federal spending. Donald Trump calls global warming a hoax, and President Biden offers feel-good solutions that will make no difference to the global climate,” he added.
President Trump on Mitt Romney. pic.twitter.com/hfaGtUG0T6
— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) September 13, 2023
Romney was elected to the Senate in 2018. He had been the Republican candidate for president in 2012 after serving a governor of Massachusetts, and in 2016, he led the “NeverTrump” wing of the Republican Party in an effort to deny Donald Trump the party’s nomination. In the Senate, he was among a handful of senators who voted against Trump during both of Trump’s impeachment trials.
Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson, a pro-Trump Republican, has created an exploratory committee with an eye toward next year, but has not yet announced his candidacy, according to Fox News.
The Salt Lake Tribune noted that recent polling has included Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, state Sen. Mike Kennedy, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs as potential candidates for the seat Romney is vacating.
A poll released last month by Noble Predictive Insights showed that 54 percent of Utah Republicans surveyed said Romney should step aside, with only 33 percent supporting a second Senate term.
Taking shots at both Biden and Trump, Romney said a second term would not be productive given what he expects from the presidential contest, according to The Washington Post.
“[One] It’s very difficult for the House to operate, from what I can tell, and two, and perhaps more importantly, we’re probably going to have either Trump or Biden as our next president. And Biden is unable to lead on important matters and Trump is unwilling to lead on important matters,” he said.
Romney said he has no plans to wade into the 2024 GOP presidential primaries.
MAGA has ousted Paul Ryan, Ben Sasse, Adam Kinzinger, Liz Cheney and soon Mitt Romney from Washington, DC
This is what winning looks like pic.twitter.com/idrykwSMIs
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) September 13, 2023
“I doubt my support will mean anything positive to any of the candidates at the finish line. I’m not looking to get involved in that,” he said, adding disdainfully, “It’s pretty clear that the party is inclined to a populist demagogue message.”
He called his wing of the party “very, very small” but said the GOP can turn away from Trump’s policies.
“If it can change in the direction of a populist,” he said, “it can change back in the direction of my wing of the Republican Party.”
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