NEWS
Sen. Mitt Romney Says He Won’t Seek Re-election
Courtesy of senatorromney/Instagram
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney on Wednesday announced he will not be seeking re-election in 2024, saying it’s time for a “new generation of leaders.”
“I spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another, and at the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s” the senator from Utah said in a video message posted on social media.
“Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders,” Romney said. “They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.”
The 76-year-old said both President Joe Biden, 80, and former President Donald Trump, 77, who is running for a second Republican presidential nomination, are failing to meet the moment on a variety of issues, from the climate to the national debt to China.
“We face critical challenges — mounting national debt, climate change, and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront them,” Romney said.
“While I’m not running for reelection, I’m not retiring from the fight. I’ll be your United States senator until January of 2025,” Romney said.
Romney was the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, and unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He was the Republican nominee for president in 2012, and was elected to represent Utah in the Senate in 2018.
Romney in 2020 became the first U.S. senator in history to vote to convict a member of his own party in an impeachment trial, when he voted to convict Trump of abuse of power. He was the only Republican to vote to convict.
When Romney voted to convict Trump of inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, some Republicans joined him.
TMX contributed to this article.
