Report: Romney Would Run for Utah Senate if Hatch Retires

Mitt Romney would run for Senate in Utah if Sen. Orrin Hatch decides to retire, according to a Monday report on UtahPolicy.com.

Hatch has not decided whether he will run in the 2018 midterm elections for an eighth term, the report said. The senator, 83, has been a Utah senator since 1977.

Sources told UtahPolicy that Hatch might not make up his mind until December.

Such a late date could keep some prospective candidates out of the race, but Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate, has financial resources enough to be able to launch a Senate campaign regardless of the time issue, according to Utah Policy.

A poll on UtahPolicy.com showed that Romney would be a popular candidate if he chooses to run. He would bring in 64 percent of the vote if he competed against Democratic candidate Jenny Wilson, the poll reported.

"Mitt Romney would be perfect," Hatch said in a National Journal interview in March, commenting that he would consider retiring if a viable candidate took his place, according to a tweet from National Journal's Ben Pershing.

Orrin Hatch tells @arogDC he might be willing to retire ... if he could hand his seat to Mitt Romney. ($$) https://t.co/sG5lZmnd3R pic.twitter.com/9XL8p0MLVf

— Ben Pershing (@benpershing) March 29, 2017

The UtahPolicy site also reported in May the possibility that Romney would run in Hatch's place.

• Hatch Will Likely Vote to Release Transcript of Dossier Testimony
• Romney Moves Spark Speculation About Another Political Run