Report: Mitt Romney Is Moving Closer To A Senate Run

Mitt Romney seems like a nice enough guy, but I really wish he’d just go away.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s happening anytime soon. The rumor has been that Mitt Romney will run for a Senate seat in Utah if 83-year-old Orrin Hatch retires. Still no official word on the retirement front. “Sources” told The Atlantic that Hatch is secretly telling his friends he’s retiring, but his office is publicly disputing the rumors.

“Nothing has changed since The Atlantic published a carbon copy of this same story in April, likely with the same anonymous sources who were no more informed on the senator’s thinking than they seem to be now,” Hatch spokesman Dave Hansen said.

It looks like Romney’s planning a run regardless.

According to a report from Politico, Romney is getting pretty close to pulling the trigger on a 2018 Senate run.

Mitt Romney is edging closer to a 2018 Senate run.

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.

Again, I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but we really don’t need anymore establishment Republicans who will oppose President Trump and his agenda just to make a point. Remember? Last year, Romney tore into Trump, calling him a “phony” and “fraud.” He even made fun of Trump’s “lousy hat.” Trump hit back by calling him a “failed candidate” and “choke artist.”

The Senate might seem like an unexpected landing place for the 70-year-old former Massachusetts governor and two-time presidential candidate. Yet those who’ve spoken with Romney in recent days are convinced he’s prepared to jump in. After falling short in his quest for the White House and then being passed over by President Donald Trump for secretary of state, friends say Romney still has unquenched political ambitions.

Ugh. What is with these people and their quest to fulfill their “unquenched political ambitions”? Retire! The dude is 70. He ran for president and failed. Call it a day. Sit back and enjoy your family, Mitt. For crying out loud. Why are these people not doing that? I sure as heck would be.

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.

This could happen. Stay turned. We might have a Sen. Romney on our hands.