Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyMilley discussed resigning from post after Trump photo-op: report Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names Attorney says 75-year-old man shoved by Buffalo police suffered brain injury MORE will soon make\u00a0his long-awaited announcement about running for Utah\u2019s Senate seat, marking a comeback for Romney\u2019s political career after his failed 2012 presidential bid.<\/p>\n
Romney had originally planned to make the announcement on Thursday, but\u00a0delayed the\u00a0event after the Parkland, Fla. shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Romney, who is reportedly running for the seat left open by Sen. Orrin HatchOrrin Grant HatchBottom line Bottom line Bottom line MORE\u2019s (R) retirement, will likely easily win both the GOP primary and the general election in the deep-red state. But the campaign will also thrust Romney back into the spotlight in a party that\u2019s changed drastically under President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE.<\/p>\n
Former Romney campaign hands have made it clear that those expecting a \u201cNever Trump\u201d candidate and senator will be disappointed. But they expect that Romney, a fierce Trump critic during the 2016 campaign, won\u2019t be reluctant to speak out when he disagrees with the president.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s not running as a protest candidate against the president. He\u2019s running to get things done,\u201d said Ryan Williams, a GOP strategist who worked on Romney\u2019s 2012 presidential bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe governor understands that the president is the leader of the political party, the Republican Party,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThe president shapes the party. When the governor was the nominee in 2012, he was the de facto leader of the party, but now President Trump is. But that doesn\u2019t mean that will affect his views.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump briefly considered Romney to be secretary of State during a post-election detente between the two men, but Romney has criticized Trump since that brief thaw.<\/p>\n
Romney slammed Trump for sticking by Alabama Senate candidate Roy MooreRoy Stewart MooreSessions goes after Tuberville’s coaching record in challenging him to debate The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip Sessions fires back at Trump over recusal: ‘I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did” MORE after allegations against him of sexual misconduct with minors were reported, and Romney raised concerns about recent reports that Trump referred to certain places as \u201cshithole countries.\u201d And the former GOP presidential nominee condemned Trump\u2019s equivocating response to fatal violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.<\/p>\n
The tension between the two Republicans dates back to the 2016 presidential election, when Romney blasted Trump as a \u201cfraud\u201d and \u201cphony\u201d who had hijacked the GOP. Romney went on to support an attempt to block Trump\u2019s nomination at the GOP convention. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The feud hasn\u2019t been one-sided. Trump has repeatedly mocked Romney for losing the 2012 election, telling supporters during an April 2016 rally in New York that Romney \u201cchoked like a dog\u201d in the race against former President Obama.<\/p>\n
When Hatch began musing about a potential retirement, clearing the path for a Romney bid, Trump tried to keep Hatch in the seat. But ultimately, the 83-year-old Hatch announced he\u2019d step aside.<\/p>\n
While Romney and Trump aren\u2019t expected to be close allies if the former governor joins the Senate, former Romney aides believe the two politicians will find issues to agree on.<\/p>\n
Kevin Madden, a former senior adviser to Romney\u2019s presidential campaign, said the two politicians have been \u201ccordial\u201d when they\u2019ve found common ground. He added that Romney would have supported the GOP tax-reform bill if he had been in the upper chamber, and that he\u2019d be well positioned to make an immediate impact because of his high profile and connections within the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing that makes Romney somewhat different from other senators is he was the standard-bearer for the party in the [2012] presidential election,\u201d Madden said. \u201cHe has a national profile \u2014 as a result his voice will carry a lot of weight, but he\u2019d still be [one] voice of 100.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite a cleared primary field, Romney\u2019s Senate bid hasn\u2019t been met with unanimous Republican support in Utah.<\/p>\n
Rob Anderson, the Utah Republican Party chairman, called Romney a carpetbagger in an interview on Wednesday, one day before his expected announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s keeping out candidates that I think would be a better fit for Utah, because, let\u2019s face it: Mitt Romney doesn\u2019t live here, his kids weren\u2019t born here, he doesn\u2019t shop here,\u201d Anderson told The Salt Lake Tribune. \u201cI have two questions for Mitt. First of all, why? And how do you expect to represent Utah when you don\u2019t live here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Romney could be more identified with Massachusetts, where he served as governor, or Michigan, where he was born and where his father served as governor. After Hatch announced his retirement, Romney changed the location on his Twitter profile from Massachusetts to Utah.<\/p>\n
Still, Romney lived in Utah before his bid for governor, played a key role in running the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and bought a home in the state after his 2012 presidential defeat.<\/p>\n
He is expected to cruise through the GOP primary, where Republican voters are less aligned with Trump than their counterparts in other states.<\/p>\n
Just 14 percent of Utah Republican caucusgoers picked Trump in 2016, even though Trump was the clear frontrunner by that point. Trump won Utah in the presidential race with just 45 percent of the vote after independent candidate Evan McMullin, who framed himself as the conservative alternative to Trump, won 21 percent.<\/p>\n
A September poll by UtahPolicy.com found Romney ahead of Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, the likely Democratic nominee, by 38 points.<\/p>\n
But Wilson has vowed to keep pressing, criticizing Romney in a statement on Wednesday ahead of his announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cUtah needs an independent voice for our communities that are struggling, not a hand-picked candidate of the Washington establishment,\u201d Wilson said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need binders full of policy papers about the state of Utah, because I live in Utah, I raise my family in Utah, and I serve the community in Utah,\u201d Wilson added, referencing Romney\u2019s \u201cbinders full of women\u201d gaffe from a 2012 presidential debate.<\/p>\n