With barely 24 hours to go before Utah Republicans head to the polls and choose a nominee to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch, speculation is mounting about President Trump launching a last-minute offensive on Twitter to try to defeat favored candidate (and sworn Trump enemy) Mitt Romney.
A just completed Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll shows the 2012 Republican presidential nominee Romney with a 65-to-23 percent lead over conservative insurgent Mike Kennedy.
Whether Trump wants to risk political capital on such a long-shot candidate is uncertain. When he fired the now-famous tweet that helped bring down Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., on June 12, the Republican lawmaker and "Never Trumper" was clearly locked in a tight race with pro-Trump challenger Katy Arrington.
"Nobody ever got rich betting what Trump will do or won't do," former New Jersey State GOP Chairman and National Committeeman David Norcross told Newsmax. "But I'll take the bet, he won't attack Romney."
Others closer to the Trump circle won't say for sure if they think the President will "go nuclear" against Romney, but clearly hope so.
"[Trump] takes no prisoners," former White House director of communications Anthony Scaramucci emailed Newsmax.
"Leave none alive," echoed Rob Wasinger, a veteran of the Trump campaign and top Washington operative.
For his part, Romney opponent Kennedy has strongly emphasized the differences he and Romney have when it comes to the president.
"I didn't know what we were getting out of Trump but I've been really impressed with his conservative performance," Kennedy recently told Newsmax, "and I want to support his conservative agenda. My opponent is unwilling to do that."
With conservative clout in Utah GOP primaries historically growing with a lower turnout, Kennedy expects a turnout of 400,000 voters compared to 700,000 to 800,000 in presidential years.
In a state that last sent a Democrat to the Senate in 1970, the winner of the Republican primary Tuesday is expected to be Hatch's certain successor.
If Romney emerges triumphant, he will be, at 71, the oldest freshman senator since fellow Republican S.I. Hayakawa of California in 1976. He also would be the first defeated presidential candidate to return to politics as a senator since Democrat Hubert Humphrey in 1970.
Both admirers and opponents of Romney anticipate that, as a senator, he will carry the torch as the "anti-Trump" within the Republican Party.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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