Hurrah! Never Trumper Rino Mitt Romney not seeking reelection to the Senate!
"A more ungrateful RINO who backstabbed loyal Republicans ever existed like Mitt Romney. Romney voted to impeach a Republican President becoming the only party member in American history to vote to impeach his own Party's incumbent president. Trump had supported Romney to be elected U.S. Senator from Utah but the traitorous Romney revealed he did not vote for Trump. Good riddance to a shameful never Trumper who could not bear the thought of running on the same ticket as Donald Trump in 2024, says Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate.
Delgaudio said "Romney would have faced a strong anti-Romney backlash for voting with Democrats to impeach Trump twice, and frequently attacking Trump during his term of office. Political authorities predicted he would have a hard time in 2024 as there has been frequent conservative challenges to punish liberal Republicans in Utah for years."
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney will not seek reelection in 2024, he announced Wednesday -- marking the potential end to a storied conservative career that had in recent years put him in conflict with his party's standard-bearer, Donald Trump.
In a video statement, Romney, 76, touted his role in major pieces of bipartisan legislation on issues including infrastructure, guns and COVID-19 relief but said it was time for a "new generation" to take the reins -- both on Capitol Hill and in the White House, accusing President Joe Biden, 80, and former President Trump, 77, of not doing enough to address America's challenges.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, was elected to the Senate in 2018 and will leave Washington in January 2025.
At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Romney invoked his own age as part of the move to retire.
"It's time for guys like me to get out of the way," he told reporters.
"Over the last couple decades, people of my age -- the boomers -- have done pretty well for ourselves," he said, "and we voted for all sorts of benefits and programs for us and we've paid for them and think some of the people coming along next want to have a say in how we leave the earth and how they prepare for the future."
Short Post by C-Span for Freshman Senator Mitt Romney
"Romney attacked Conservatives, Trump and Trump backers extensively, again revealing his suicidal political beliefs in sabatoging himself for his own re-election prospects, and even complained about not having any senority as a Freshman Senator or even if he is re-elected, " says Delgaudio
MAJOR UTAH NEWS SITE PREDICTED THE END OF MITT ROMNEY BACK IN 2021
UTAH POLICY REPORTED IN DECEMBER 2021:
As for electability, Romney's political health isn't as good as his physical health. His approval ratings are weak, especially among Republican voters whose support he needs to win the GOP nomination. Still, it's very difficult to defeat an incumbent senator. Romney will have unlimited funding, a lot of support from the Utah business community and establishment leaders, and he will put together an effective campaign.
Romney can easily win a general election against any Democrat or independent. The key for him will be the GOP nomination, and that could be difficult. Former Pres. Donald Trump won Utah with 58% of the vote in 2020, but Romney voted twice to boot him out of office via the impeachment process. Romney was an outlier in his own party as Trump's chief critic among Republicans senators. He was much more aligned with Democrats on his attitudes and actions toward Trump.
Many Republicans didn't (and don't) like Trump. But most of them kept quiet about it. They weren't so much afraid of Trump as they were alienating Trump voters, who dominate the Republican Party. But Romney didn't ignore Trump. He went out of his way to antagonize the president, and he did alienate a lot of GOP voters.
So, the question is whether Utah Republicans will forgive Romney and nominate him in 2024. Romney will surely be challenged from the right. I don't believe a far-right, Trump-loving fringe candidate could take the nomination away from Romney. But a smart, thoughtful, articulate, non-scary candidate with solid conservative credentials could give Romney a tough fight.
Utah Republicans have already shown they're willing to vote against political royalty. After all, they chose young Spencer Cox for governor over the more glamorous, experienced and polished Jon Huntsman.