Politico Magazine online speculates that Mormon and former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney is getting closer to running for the Senate.
Orrin Hatch, who is also LDS, seems to be getting closer to announcing his retirement. Until now, Hatch has been undecided, but has voiced his willingness to step aside if Romney would consider a bid to replace him.
Says Politico:
The former GOP presidential nominee is huddling with Utah’s class of GOP power brokers, contacting the state’s major political donors, and hitting the trail for candidates running in local races amid mounting speculation that the state’s longtime senator, Orrin Hatch, will retire. Romney is also raising money for House and Senate Republicans, winning him favor with GOP leaders ahead of a treacherous midterm election….
On a campaign swing through Idaho last month for gubernatorial hopeful Tommy Ahlquist, Romney met with Republican mega-donor and wellness company executive Frank VanderSloot. Romney told the donor he was seriously thinking about running for Senate, according to several people familiar with the discussion.
Romney has met with the Sutherland Institute, a prominent conservative think tank. In the Senate, he would be a foil within the Republican Party to President Trump. “People close to Romney envision him running as a senior statesman-like figure — one who won’t reflexively oppose the administration but is willing to air his differences with Trump.
“Appearing before a donor conference in Park City, Utah in June, Romney offered up an implicit jab of Trump’s America-first approach to foreign policy and said the White House was too consumed with palace intrigue.”
