Mitt Romney Won’t Run In 2024. Who Will Replace Him?
Utah Senator Mitt Romney announced yesterday that he won't seek reelection.
Despite leading in early primary polls and receiving the endorsement of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Romney actually had a net -1 approval rating among Utah voters.
The race is now wide open, and there are many contenders to win Romney's seat in 2024.
The only Declared candidate in the race is Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs. Staggs was a member of the Riverton City Council from 2014–2018 before being elected Mayor.
Staggs's tenure as Mayor earned him the award of Best Mayor In Utah, which was given to him by Best Of State.
Another strong candidate in this race is Brad Wilson, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives. Wilson has formed an exploratory committee, and is expected to announce his decision this fall.
Now that Romney has dropped out, I expect Wilson to enter the race. His fundraising numbers were very competitive with Romney's, and he actually had more cash on hand as of June 30, 2023.
Other candidates that have publicly expressed interest include Jason Chaffetz, a former House Rep from Utah's 3rd Congressional district, and John Curtis, the person who filled Chaffetz's vacant seat in 2017.
We have some polling from Utah from Noble Predictive Insights, but I don't think it paints a very clear picture of the race.
When Utah voters were asked who they'd vote for in a Republican primary without Romney, the top choice was Sean Reyes, Utah's Attorney General. However, Reyes has already declined to run for Senate.
Current Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, who has not expressed interest in running, received 8% of the vote, while Brad Wilson and state Senator Mike Kennedy — another person who hasn't expressed interest — both received 7% of the vote.
More than 55% of survey respondents were undecided, and that number is certainly higher since Sean Reyes isn't running.
Who do you think will win the Utah senate race? Let me know in the comments below, then check out my next video to see how many Senate seats the GOP could realistically win in 2024.
Poll cited: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/...
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