Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) is confident he could win reelection to the Senate should he run for a second term in the Beehive State, surprising critics who viewed his rebellion toward former President Donald Trump as an indication he would be a one-term senator.
Romney has become a well-known national figure throughout his first Senate term, particularly for his willingness to break with other Republicans on key issues. The junior Utah senator especially took on that reputation after voting to convict former President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, making him the first senator to vote to remove a president of the same party from office.
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“I’ve faced long odds: Getting the nomination in 2012 was a long shot, becoming a Republican governor in one of the most liberal states in America,” said Romney, onetime GOP presidential candidate in 2012 and former governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007. “So I’m convinced that if I run, I win. But that’s a decision I’ll make.”
Romney’s chances are unclear in the reliably red state of Utah, which voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020 by wide margins. Meanwhile, Utah voters remain split on whether Romney should seek reelection, according to a recent poll from the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics.
A reelection for Romney would pose major implications for Republicans as some lawmakers seek to look beyond Trump and his influence for the party’s future. It would also come as a number of other high-profile Trump critics within the party vanish from Congress, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has expressed support for Romney, calling him “a really important part of our conference.”
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“People respect his intelligence, his assessment of the era we find ourselves in. And I think his running for reelection would be very important,” McConnell told Politico. “It’s important for the Republican Party and the country that he runs again.”
Romney has not determined whether he’ll run for a second term, noting an announcement may not be coming “anytime in the immediate future.” The junior senator is likely to face his toughest challenges during the GOP primary, with a growing list of possible candidates seeking a bid against him.
