{"id":591261,"date":"2023-09-15T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/romney-retirement-sets-off-utah-gop-scramble\/"},"modified":"2023-09-15T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T09:30:00","slug":"romney-retirement-sets-off-utah-gop-scramble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/romney-retirement-sets-off-utah-gop-scramble\/","title":{"rendered":"#Romney retirement sets off Utah GOP scramble"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/romneymitt_091323gn03_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Sen. Mitt\u00a0Romney\u2019s\u00a0(R-Utah) decision to not seek reelection is setting off a scramble among Utah Republicans to fill his seat in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A moderate Republican and an outspoken critic of former President Trump, Romney announced on Wednesday that he\u2019ll retire when his first term in the upper chamber ends in 2025, calling for a \u201cnew generation of leaders.\u201d\u00a0His exit likely opens the door for other, more conservative contenders to flood into the contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Utah GOP Chairman Robert Axson told The Hill that roughly 30 people have expressed interest over the last few months in running for Romney\u2019s seat. Of those, he estimated a dozen are \u201cseriously considering right now.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is going to be a blockbuster Republican primary election,\u201d said Damon Cann, head of Utah State University\u2019s department of political <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cNo doubt about it. We don\u2019t see a lot of open Senate seats in Utah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Romney is a political legend in Utah, and if he\u2019d run for reelection, he would have started out as the favorite.<\/p>\n<p>Yet his exit also may be a sign of the changing times in the state, the country and the Republican Party itself.<\/p>\n<p>Romney is the only Republican to vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges twice, and has repeatedly been willing to stand up to the former president in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Those votes made it highly likely he\u2019d have faced GOP challengers, and his exit could lead to a more open race.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Cann said Romney\u2019s decision will likely spur still more people to jump into the GOP race. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPreviously, I wouldn\u2019t have predicted many more entrants into that race. Now I suspect we\u2019re going to see a veritable landslide of candidates trying to run for the Republican nomination,\u201d Cann said.<\/p>\n<p>Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs has already declared his candidacy, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MayorStaggs\/status\/1702023781760323633\">thanked<\/a> Romney for stepping aside on Wednesday. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In an interview with One America <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>, the mayor said he also anticipates \u201ca lot of would-be challengers now popping up\u201d\u00a0to surge into the race in Romney\u2019s absence. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson has launched an exploratory committee for the Senate post. In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/electbradwilson\/status\/1702041698845737398\">statement<\/a> on Romney\u2019s decision not to seek re-election, Wilson teased \u201cstay tuned.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wilson said it\u2019s important \u201cto elect a strong conservative fighter\u201d to the U.S. Senate, and Staggs\u2019s website advertises him as the \u201cconservative fighter we need in D.C.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Multiple other names are being floated as possible contenders for the Beehive State\u2019s upper chamber seat \u2014 among them, current Utah Republican Reps.\u00a0John Curtis and Blake Moore.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis said on Wednesday it\u2019s \u201cencouraging to hear from friends urging me to run for Senate,\u201d but was noncommittal about a possible bid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBe it in the House or Senate, there\u2019s much to accomplish &amp; I look forward to getting things done,\u201d Curtis wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Moore <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/09\/13\/mitt-romney-reelection-retire-senate-2024\">told Axios<\/a> that he\u2019s \u201cnot ruling anything out\u201d but that he\u2019s \u201cnot planning on anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz is seen by some as a possible candidate,\u00a0as is\u00a0Tim Ballard, the founder and former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad and the inspiration for the controversial film \u201cSound of Freedom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do hope Utah ultimately elects, a solid, proven, and tested conservative to deal with the biggest and most tumultuous issues facing our country and the State of Utah,\u201d Chaffetz wrote after Romney\u2019s announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>A Noble Predictive Insights <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.noblepredictiveinsights.com\/post\/state-of-2024-utah-senate-race\">poll<\/a> of Utah Republican voters, conducted in July, found that \u201ca race without Romney is wide open.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In that hypothetical, Utah Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Sean Reyes was the only possible contender to score double-digits, while more than half of Utah GOP voters said they were undecided. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Reyes has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SeanReyesUT\/status\/1702070710288437658\">announced<\/a> he won\u2019t get in the Senate race and is running for reelection as attorney general, and teased that he\u2019ll be backing someone else who could announce a bid in the coming days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, who has said establishment Republicans are planning to be more selective and active in recruiting candidates in 2024, said after Romney\u2019s announcement that \u201cwe are going to nominate a candidate who will keep Utah red in 2024.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Utah Democrats, on the other hand,\u00a0told The Hill that the race to replace Romney \u201cis going to be a contest for Utah Republicans to out-MAGA one another.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whoever ultimately\u00a0wins the post will join Lee, who beat out Republican-turned-independent candidate Evan McMullin to\u00a0win reelection in last year\u2019s midterms. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Romney, Lee voted against Trump\u2019s impeachments and was endorsed by the former president last year. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, it\u2019s a same-party pair, but about as far apart as you can get with a-same party pair with Mike Lee and Mitt Romney,\u201d Cann said of Utah\u2019s two sitting senators.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gabi Finlayson, a founding partner at the Utah-based progressive consulting firm Elevate Strategies, said progressives in the state are sad to see Romney go, noting that \u201cthere\u2019s not a lot of room for moderates in the GOP anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Finlayson also thinks Utah will be one of the next states to flip blue, citing its young population and its fast growth in recent years. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Though she conceded the race isn\u2019t likely to get close enough to be a real toss-up or pickup opportunity for Democrats, Finlayson predicted that whatever Democrat runs for Romney\u2019s seat \u201cwill perform better than any Democrat that we\u2019ve seen on a statewide level.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>No Democrat has filed yet for the Senate contest. Both upper chamber seats in Utah have been filled by Republicans for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.270towin.com\/states\/Utah\">decades<\/a>, with Romney\u2019s last occupied by Sen. Orrin Hatch for more than 40 years. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Utah Senate race to replace Sen. Romney will be a case study in the future direction of the party,\u201d said one Republican strategist. \u201cThe fact that Romney is retiring after one term in the Senate shows that the old guard of the Republican Party is prepared to step aside for new leadership.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4205435-romney-retirement-sets-off-utah-gop-scramble\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Mitt\u00a0Romney\u2019s\u00a0(R-Utah) decision to not seek reelection is setting off a scramble among Utah Republicans to fill his seat in 2024.\u00a0 A moderate Republican and an outspoken critic of former President Trump, Romney announced on Wednesday that he\u2019ll retire when his first term in the upper chamber ends in 2025, calling for a \u201cnew generation&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":591262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/romneymitt_091323gn03_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,117,134343,4941,90482,135780,70464,134345,44281],"class_list":["post-591261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-business","tag-campaign","tag-donald-trump","tag-house","tag-mike-lee","tag-mitt-romney","tag-state-watch","tag-utah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}