Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney announces Utah Senate bid

WASHINGTON – Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, announced on Friday he would run for a U.S. Senate seat in Utah, confirming months of speculation about a return to national politics.

"I've decided to run for United States Senate because I've decided I can help bring Utah's values and Utah's lessons to Washington," Romney, who is seeking to replace retiring Senator Orrin Hatch, said in a video posted to Twitter.

Much of Romney's video focused on Utah values versus the Washington culture.

"Utah has a lot to teach the politicians in Washington," he said. "… Utah welcomes legal immigrants from around the world. Washington sends immigrants a message of exclusion. And on Utah's Capitol Hill, people treat one another with respect."

Trump has called for building a wall on the country's border with Mexico and limiting legal migration.

Romney, the son of former Michigan Governor George Romney, served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Before that, he helped found the buyout firm Bain Capital and gained prominence after stepping in to lead the organizing committee for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics after a bribery scandal.

Romney first sought the presidency in 2008 but lost the Republican nomination to Arizona Senator John McCain. Four years later, Romney won the party's nomination but was defeated by incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama.

Romney is the front-runner in the November election in Republican-dominated Utah. According to the Federal Election Commission, the field includes five other people, including a Salt Lake City councilwoman and a Marine Corps veteran.

The race will be Romney's second for the Senate. In 1994, he failed to oust Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy from his seat in Massachusetts.

Hatch, 83, the most senior Republican in the Senate, said last month he would not seek an eighth term. Trump had urged Hatch to run again in an apparent attempt to head off Romney.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Romney excoriated Trump as a "fraud" who was "playing the American public for suckers." Trump responded that Romney had "choked like a dog" in his race against Obama.

However, after Trump won the presidency in November 2016, he briefly considered whether to pick Romney as his secretary of state.

Trump had lobbied Hatch to run for re-election in 2018 in what was viewed as an effort to prevent Romney from getting into the Senate. Trump and Romney spoke in January after Hatch announced his retirement, a White House official said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had been Romney's vice presidential running mate in 2012, said in a statement on Friday that he was thrilled with Romney's decision to run for Senate.

"His campaign has my unwavering support and the people of Utah will be getting an accomplished and decent man when they make him their next Senator," Ryan said.

Republicans hold 52 of the Senate's 100 seats but that majority is not always big enough to pass the Trump agenda.

Romney had successful treatment for prostate cancer in 2017, a source close to him said in January.