With a square jaw, immaculate hair, and a perfectly-tailored blue suit, Mitt Romney has been all dressed up with nowhere to go since 2012. New reporting from The Atlantic suggests that could be changing soon. Apparently, Romney is considering a Senate bid.
While that news might delight the likes of Hugh Hewitt, all these rumors of a resurgent Mittmentum are growing tiresome. We’ve heard them again, and again, and again.
Dutifully detailed by The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins, the current speculation has all the trappings of a classic Romney no-show. Half-a-dozen sources confirm that the former Massachusetts governor is thinking about running for Utah senator. Little hints set off storms of speculation. And Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has pre-emptively given his blessing to his potential successor.
It looks suspiciously like that time everyone thought a Romney 2016 presidential run was for real. After failing to secure the nomination in 2008 and losing to Obama in 2012, some thought if Romney tried one more time he could win the presidency. His inner circle confirmed that he was thinking about it. Small signs fueled big media buzz. And plenty of party brass, like his old running mate Paul Ryan, encouraged Romney to try again.
It was all very exciting for a couple of news cycles. Then it all came to nothing. Romney declined to run, and embraced the role of the GOP’s unemployed elder-statesman.
Guessing when Romney might re-enter politics, as Coppins notes, has subsequently become a Beltway pastime. That’s because the governor won’t give up the limelight. Ahead of the 2016 RNC Convention, he pricked #NeverTrump hopes when he wouldn’t rule out accepting the nomination. And he got the establishment excited when he publically auditioned for Secretary of State. Again, both came to nothing.
And now we are to believe that Romney, a 70-year-old man who seemingly can’t make up his own mind, is headed to the greatest deliberative body in the world? Maybe.
Utah would be Romney’s best shot at getting back into politics. His Mormon faith and solid character make him popular in Church of Latter Day Saints’ backyard. What’s more, Romney has the campaign infrastructure and the political know-how to win. Summing it all up, the opinion editor of the Deseret News explained, “it’d be the easiest Senate bid in the history of the United States of America.”
But it’s not clear how seriously to take these rumors. Maybe his inner circle is trying to make Mitt happen by ginning up speculation. Or maybe the governor is just being a big old tease, building buzz before bowing out. But either way, one thing is certain: this needs to be the last time.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
