Mitt Romney teases Feb. 15 announcement ahead of expected Senate bid

“Looking forward to making an announcement on February 15th about the Utah Senate race,” Romney said on Twitter, redirecting people to his website at the end of the tweet.

Romney is expected to run for the Senate seat held by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who decided against a bid for an eighth term in office. But Romney has been relatively quiet about a bid outside of the occasional Twitter post.

Hatch announced that he would not seek re-election in early January, leaving the door open for Romney, who has been rumored to be a potential candidate should the seat open since Hatch first said he would consider not running if a “really outstanding person” were to run and name-checked Romney specifically in early 2016.

The longtime Utah senator was being prodded by the White House to run once again for his seat, including during a visit by President Trump to Utah in early December where Hatch traveled with him on Air Force One.

Since then, however, Romney has received most of attention, especially after a horde of conservatives opted against running for the seat.

The former Massachusetts governor even spoke with Trump soon after the Utah visit, but has had a tumultuous, roller coaster relationship with the president. Romney spoke out against Trump’s candidacy in March 2016 but was later considered for secretary of state after Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton. The job ultimately went to Rex Tillerson.

Since Hatch’s announcement, Romney has only spoken publicly on Twitter, including to mark the death of Thomas S. Monson, the former president of the the Mormon Church, and to rebuke Trump over reported remarks referring to Haiti and various African nations as “shithole countries.”