Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
GOP Sen. Mitt Romney Won't Seek Reelection in 2024, Calls for Younger Leaders
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
September 14, 2023

Share

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he will not run for reelection, ending a storied two-decade political career that included the 2012 Republican GOP nomination for president and a term as Massachusetts governor.

Romney, 76, said the country’s many challenges call for a younger generation of leaders. He said the U.S. would be better served if the two front-runners for their parties’ 2024 presidential nominations — Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump — stepped aside. Biden is 80 and Trump is 77.

Call for Younger Leadership

“The times we’re living in redemand the next generation step up and express their point of view and to make the decisions that will shape American politics over the coming century,” Romney said in a news conference at the Capitol. He said baby boomers like him are “not the right ones to be making the decisions for tomorrow.”

He said after he leaves the Senate he plans to focus on getting more young people voting and involved in the political process.

Romney’s Political Journey

As the GOP’s 2012 nominee for the White House, Romney campaigned across America as a buttoned-up former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive. But with Trump’s populist rise as the party’s dominant figure, Romney’s brand of Republicanism shifted from establishment to outlier. He was the only GOP member of Congress to vote to convict Trump at both of his impeachment trials.

Romney said at the news conference that he belongs to the “wise wing of the Republican Party” and doesn’t think it will fade away.

“My wing of the party talks about policy and about issues that will make a difference in the lives of the American people. The Trump wing of the party talks about resentments of various kinds and getting even and settling scores and revisiting the 2020 election.”

Romney said he spoke to Biden on Wednesday, and the president wished him well.

Senate Retirements

He is the sixth incumbent senator to announce plans to retire after the end of the term in 2025, joining Republican Mike Braun of Indiana and Democrats Tom Carper of Delaware, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Dianne Feinstein of California and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell praised Romney in a statement, noting the breadth of experience he brought to the chamber and saying his deep faith and integrity had inspired his colleagues.

“The U.S. Senate is known to attract bright and proven public servants. However, we rarely get to welcome new Senators already as accomplished and well-regarded as Mitt Romney,” McConnell said.

Open Contest for Romney’s Seat

His departure creates a wide-open contest in a state that heavily favors Republicans and is expected to attract a crowded field.

Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson expressed interest in Romney’s seat earlier this year, launching an exploratory committee in April while saying the state needed a “conservative fighter” who represents its values, not a “professional career politician.”

Wilson, in a statement Wednesday, thanked Romney for his service and wished him the best. “I’ve been encouraged so far by the record-breaking fundraising, groundswell of grassroots support, and unprecedented endorsements we’ve received so far,” Wilson said. “Stay tuned.”

Romney’s Relationship with Trump

Romney easily won election to the Senate 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 Trump.

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.

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 last year’s midterm elections.

Romney’s Popularity in Utah

Still, Romney has been 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 long-shot 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.

Romney, a Brigham Young University graduate and one of the faith’s most visible members, has been a popular figure in the state for two decades. He burnished his reputation there by turning around the bribery scandal-plagued 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, making it a global showcase for Salt Lake City.

Romney’s Political Career

Romney served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. During his tenure, he signed a health care law that had some of the same core features as the 2010 federal health care law signed by President Barack Obama, who would go on to defeat Romney in the 2012 White House election.

During his presidential campaign, Romney struggled to shake the perception that he was out of touch with regular Americans. The image crystallized with his comment, secretly recorded at a fundraiser, that he didn’t worry about winning the votes of “47% of Americans” who “believe they are victims” and “pay no income tax.”

He moved to Utah after his defeat for the presidency.

In 2016, he delivered a scathing speech in Utah denouncing Trump, then a GOP presidential candidate, as a “phony” and a “fraud” who was unfit for the White House.

After Trump won, Romney dined with Trump as the president-elect dangled the prospect of naming him secretary of state. Trump chose Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson instead.

Romney accepted Trump’s endorsement during the primary race for his 2018 Senate run but also pledged in an op-ed that year that he would “continue to speak out when the president says or does something which is divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions.”

In 2020, Romney marched in a Washington protest against the police mistreatment of minorities and posted an image of his participation online with the caption “Black Lives Matter,” a rare statement for a member of his party.

On Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump’s supporters were storming the Capitol to stop Biden from becoming president, Romney nearly came face to face with the rioters. A U.S. Capitol Police officer directed him to turn around, prompting Romney to break into a run for safety.

Trump hailed the news of Romney’s retirement, saying the senator “did not serve with distinction.”

“Fantastic news for America, the great state of Utah, & for the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on his social media site all in caps. “A big primary fight against him was in the offing, but now that will not be necessary. Congrats to all. Make America great again!”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Life-Threatening Meals: Restaurants Would Identify Food Allergens for Diners Under This Proposed Law

DON'T MISS

Iran Threatens to Strike US Bases in Region if Military Conflict Arises

DON'T MISS

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades

DON'T MISS

Fresno Measure C Transportation Tax Talks Continue Amid Renewal Uncertainty

DON'T MISS

Judge Bars Trump Administration From Detaining Mahmoud Khalil

DON'T MISS

Is a Waxed Apple ‘Ultra-Processed?’ CA Bill Could Trigger a Lawsuit Barrage

DON'T MISS

Edmunds: These Five Vehicles Are Hidden Automotive Gems

DON'T MISS

GM to Invest $4 Billion to Shift Some Production From Mexico to the US

DON'T MISS

How Your Air Conditioner Can Help the Power Grid, Rather Than Overloading It

DON'T MISS

Hundreds of Laid-off CDC Employees Are Being Reinstated

UP NEXT

Fresno Measure C Transportation Tax Talks Continue Amid Renewal Uncertainty

UP NEXT

Is a Waxed Apple ‘Ultra-Processed?’ CA Bill Could Trigger a Lawsuit Barrage

UP NEXT

Justice Department to Take Narrow Approach to Prosecuting Corporate Bribery Abroad

UP NEXT

California Is a Donor State, but Can It Stop Sending Its Tax Dollars to DC?

UP NEXT

Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill to Ban Teaching Antisemitism in Arizona’s Public Schools

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Backs Off From Feud With Trump, Saying He Regrets Social Media Posts That ‘Went Too Far’

UP NEXT

Trump Hails Favorable Federal Appeals Court Ruling on His Sweeping Tariff Policy as a ‘Great’ Win

UP NEXT

California Governor Says ‘Democracy Is Under Assault’ by Trump as Feds Intervene in LA Protests

UP NEXT

US Rep. LaMonica McIver Indicted on Federal Charges From Skirmish at New Jersey Immigration Center

UP NEXT

US Military Bases to Restore Names Changed After Racial Justice Protests, Trump Says

What to Know About ‘No Kings’ Protests Against Trump’s Policies on Saturday

34 minutes ago

Most G7 Members Ready to Lower Russian Oil Price Cap Without US

37 minutes ago

Republicans in Congress Set to Grill Democratic Governors on Immigration

44 minutes ago

US Files Lawsuit Against New York for Blocking Immigration Officials Near Court

55 minutes ago

Motorcyclist Killed in Crash on Highway 180 in Sequoia National Forest Identified

59 minutes ago

Marines Prepare for Los Angeles Deployment as Protests Spread Across US

1 hour ago

Boeing Shares Drop as Air India Crash Revives Safety Concerns

1 hour ago

Wall Street Dips as Middle East Tensions Rise, Boeing Drops

1 hour ago

Fed Seen on Track to Resume Rate Cuts After Inflation, Job Market Data

1 hour ago

Air India Plane Crash: Reactions From Across the World

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Daniel Richard Orozco

June 12, 2025 Most Wanted Person of the Day Suspect Name: Daniel Richard Orozco Suspects Date of Birth: November 15, 1980 Physical Descripti...

4 minutes ago

Daniel Richard Orozco is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for June 12, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
4 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Daniel Richard Orozco

Armored vehicles belonging to Iraqi security forces are stationed outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone, Iraq, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad/File Photo
16 minutes ago

US to Pull Some Personnel From the Middle East Amid Rising Tensions With Iran

Former Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for his retrial on rape and sexual assault charges in New York City, U.S., June 12, 2025. Jefferson Siegel/Pool via REUTERS
31 minutes ago

Judge in Harvey Weinstein Trial Declares Mistrial on Rape Charge

People take part in the "No Kings Day" protest on Presidents Day in Washington, in support of federal workers and against recent actions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, by the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana,File)
34 minutes ago

What to Know About ‘No Kings’ Protests Against Trump’s Policies on Saturday

Russian flag with stock graph and an oil pump jack miniature model are seen in this illustration taken October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo
37 minutes ago

Most G7 Members Ready to Lower Russian Oil Price Cap Without US

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York responds to questions from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on state immigration policies on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
44 minutes ago

Republicans in Congress Set to Grill Democratic Governors on Immigration

The crest of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo
55 minutes ago

US Files Lawsuit Against New York for Blocking Immigration Officials Near Court

fresno
59 minutes ago

Motorcyclist Killed in Crash on Highway 180 in Sequoia National Forest Identified

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend