Ex-Mass. governor, current GOP Sen. Mitt Romney won’t seek reelection in 2024
ByThe Associated Press
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Former MA Governor and current US Senator from Utah, Mitt Romney will not run for reelection in 2024 Former MA Governor and current US Senator from Utah, Mitt Romney, will not run for reelection in 2024 (Mitt Romney)
ByThe Associated Press
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he will not run for reelection in 2024, creating a wide-open contest in a state that heavily favors Republicans and is expected to attract a crowded field.
Romney, a former presidential candidate and governor of Massachusetts, made the announcement in a video statement. The 76-year-old said the country is ready for new leadership.
“Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders,” he said. “They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.”
Romney easily won election in reliably GOP Utah in 2018 but was expected to face more resistance from his own party after he emerged as one of the most visible members to break with former President Donald Trump, who is still the party’s de-facto leader.
Romney in 2020 became the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president from their own party in an impeachment trial. Romney was the only Republican to vote against Trump in his first impeachment and one of seven to vote to convict him in the second.
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Senate McConnell Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and other senators arrive at the chamber for votes, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Senate Votes On Same-Sex Marriage Equality Bill WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) leaves the Senate floor after voting yes on a procedural vote on federal legislation protecting same-sex marriages, at the U.S. Capitol on November 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the first openly gay woman to be elected to the House and the Senate, has led Senate negotiations on the bill. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Senate Votes On Same-Sex Marriage Equality Bill WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) speaks with reporters after leaving the Senate floor after voting yes a procedural vote on federal legislation protecting same-sex marriages, at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Photos: Ketanji Brown Jackson nominated for US Supreme Court WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) (R) meets with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson (L) on Capitol Hill March 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson continued to meet with Senate members on Capitol Hill ahead of her confirmation vote. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Mitt Romney Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations to examine U.S.-Russia policy with testimony from Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo, File)
Romney 'doing better' after weekend fall knocked him unconscious Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, listens during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (Caroline Brehman/Pool via AP)
Jamie Dupree's sights from Campaign 2012 Jamie at a Mitt Romney rally in Mobile, AL (Jamie Dupree)
Mitt Romney stumps in Snellville Mitt Romney stumps for votes in Snellville, holding a pancake brunch at Brookwood High School on Sunday. (Sandra Parrish)
Mitt Romney in Atlanta Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert)
Mitt Romney (AP)
Mitt Romney (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) (George Frey)
Mitt Romney Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign stop at Lansing Community College May 8, 2012 in Lansing, Michigan. (Getty Images)
Mitt Romney Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, addresses supporters at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Mitt Romney Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, celebrates his Florida primary election win at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.
Romney was booed by a gathering of the Utah Republican Party’s most active members months after his vote at the second impeachment trial, and a measure to censure him narrowly failed. Members of the party even flung the term “Mitt Romney Republican” at their opponents on the campaign trail in 2022′s midterm elections.
Still, Romney has been seen as broadly popular in Utah, which has long harbored a band of the party that’s favored civil conservatism and resisted Trump’s brash and norm-busting style of politics.
The state is home to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project; the anti-Trump Republican Evan McMullin, who launched a longshot 2016 presidential campaign; and GOP Gov. Spencer Cox, who has been critical of Trump and is also up for reelection in 2024.
More than a majority of the state’s population are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The faith arrived in the western state with pioneers fleeing religious persecution and spread globally with the religion’s missionaries, a legacy that’s left the church’s conservative members embracing immigrants and refugees.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
