Mitt Romney has run for Senate once before, in Massachusetts in 1994. He lost to then-incumbent Sen. Ted Kennedy. But citing several sources familiar with his thinking, The Atlantic reports Romney is apparently mulling another run at the upper chamber — this time to replace longtime Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) in Utah.
Hatch is 83 years old and has served in the Senate since 1977. He's up for re-election in 2018, but told National Journal last month that he might consider retiring if Romney were to run for his seat. "If I could get a really outstanding person to run for my position, I might very well consider [retiring]," Hatch told National Journal. "Mitt Romney would be perfect."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In addition to discussing it with Hatch and other party leaders in Utah, sources said Romney has spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. According to two people with knowledge of the conversation, McConnell encouraged Romney to run if Hatch's seat opens up, and sought to assure the former GOP presidential nominee that he would have more influence in the chamber than a typical junior senator. [The Atlantic]
A spokesperson for Romney said the former governor was unavailable to offer comment to The Atlantic on the story. But for Romney, whose Mormon faith and clean-cut conservative demeanor have earned him fervent fans in Utah, a potential campaign in the Beehive State would "likely be a cakewalk," The Atlantic writes. Read more about potential Sen. Romney here.
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Quiz of The Week: 22 – 28 NovemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures Ready for lift-off, the odd one out, and more
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
