Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney

Republican Party

U.S. Senate Utah

Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

2

Prior offices

Governor of Massachusetts

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Compensation

Base salary

$174,000

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Brigham Young University, 1971

Graduate

Harvard Business School, 1975

Law

Harvard Law School, 1975

Personal

Religion

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Campaign Facebook

Personal Twitter

Mitt Romney (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Utah. He assumed office on January 3, 2019. His current term ends on January 3, 2025.

Romney (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Utah. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Romney was the 2012 Republican nominee for President of the United States. He was defeated by Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. Romney served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.

He is the second person to serve as a governor and United States Senator for different states.

Romney's father, George, served as Governor of Michigan and a member of Richard Nixon's presidential cabinet. Before running for elected office, Romney founded investment firm Bain Capital. He was also President of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee from 1999-2002.

Biography

Romney was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 12, 1947. His father, George Romney, was the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969 and US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973. He ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1968.

Mitt Romney began his career working for management consulting firm Bain & Company, going on to found investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. In 1999 he served as President of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, overseeing the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Education

• Bachelor of Arts, Brigham Young University, 1971
• MBA, Harvard Business School, 1975
• J.D., Harvard Law School, 1975

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2021-2022

Romney was assigned to the following committees:^[Source]

• Committee on Foreign Relations
• Subcommittee On Europe And Regional Security Cooperation
• Subcommittee On East Asia, The Pacific, And International Cybersecurity Policy, Ranking member
• Subcommittee On Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, And Counterterrorism
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• Subcommittee on Children and Families
• Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
• Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight
• Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management
• Senate Committee on Budget

2019-2020

Romney was assigned to the following committees:^[Source]

• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• Committee on Foreign Relations

Key Votes

See also: Key votes

Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.

Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2020

Issues

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

On September 27, 2013, Romney spoke out against Republicans’ strategy in Congress to defund Obamacare, saying that it is not “effective.”

“We’re more effective tactically not to use a shutdown of some kind to pursue the … anti-Obamacare objective,” Romney said. “I don’t think that will be as effective.”

Endorsements

See also: Idaho's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

Romney endorsed Mike Simpson (R-ID) in a fundraising email on November 18, 2013. In the message he said, “Congressman Mike Simpson is a proven conservative and ‘Idaho tough. But some groups from outside Idaho have decided to attack Mike and distort his conservative record. He needs our help to fight back and set the record straight.”

Elections

2018

See also: United States Senate election in Utah, 2018

General election

Mitt Romney defeated Jenny Wilson, Timothy Noel Aalders, Craig Bowden, and Reed McCandless in the general election for U.S. Senate Utah on November 6, 2018.

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Utah

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mitt Romney (R)	62.6	665,215
		Jenny Wilson (D)	30.9	328,541
		Timothy Noel Aalders (Constitution Party)	2.7	28,774
		Craig Bowden (L)	2.6	27,607
		Reed McCandless (Independent American Party)	1.2	12,708
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	52

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There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,062,897

Democratic primary election

The Utah Democratic Party held a nominating convention on April 28, 2018. Jenny Wilson, a Salt Lake County councilwoman, was selected via convention with 81 percent of the vote.

Republican primary election

Mitt Romney defeated Mike Kennedy in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Utah on June 26, 2018.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Utah

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mitt Romney	71.3	240,021
		Mike Kennedy	28.7	96,771

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There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 336,792

Endorsements

Federal officials

• President Donald Trump (R)
• Sen. Jeff Flake (R)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R)
• Sen. John McCain (R)
• Rep. Paul Ryan (R)

State officials

• Former Gov. Jeb Bush
• Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R)

Campaign finance

The table below details the campaign finance reports by Kennedy and Romney as of April 1, 2018.

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Mitt Romney		$5,552,040	$5,294,219	$257,822	As of December 31, 2018
Mike Kennedy		$752,499	$752,499	$0	As of December 31, 2018
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," . * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Polls

United States Senate election in Utah, Republican primary
Poll	Mitt Romney	Mike Kennedy	Other candidate	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics June 11-18, 2018	65%	23%	4%	8%	+/-5.2	356
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

United States Senate election in Utah, Republican primary
Poll	Mitt Romney	Mike Kennedy	Don't know	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Dan Jones & Associates May 15-25, 2018	67%	24%	9%	+/-5.7	295
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

United States Senate election in Utah, Republican primary
Poll	Mitt Romney, Republican	Don't know	Jenny Wilson, Democrat	Craig Bowden, Libertarian	Dan McCay, Republican	Other	Mitchell Vice, Democrat	Larry Meyers, Republican	Jay Hyatt, Republican	Alicia Colvin, Republican	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Dan Jones & Associates February 9-16, 2018	60%	14%	14%	3%	2%	2%	1%	1%	1%	1%	+/-4.0	609
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

2016 Presidency

See also: Mitt Romney possible presidential campaign, 2016

Declined to run

Romney declined to run for president in 2016. During a conference call with donors and journalists on January 30, 2015, Romney explained, "After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee."

Prior to his final decision, Romney stated on September 8, 2014, "Let me tell you, it was a great experience running for president. I loved that. But my time has come and gone. I had that opportunity. I ran, I didn't win." Romney's name garnered attention with regard to the race after his name was placed on a straw poll in Iowa on September 1, 2014. A September 22, 2014, opinion piece in The Hill called the potential duo of Romney and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval a "perfect Republican dream team."

Involvement in Republican primary process

According to Jonathan Easley of The Hill, Mitt Romney has become involved in the Republican primary process. On June 25, 2015, Easley wrote, "Romney is working to connect select candidates with his vast political network, urging the party to learn from his past mistakes, attacking Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and taking forceful stances on controversial issues." Romney planned private meetings with Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Marco Rubio in July 2015.

2012 Presidency

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Romney ran for President of the United States in 2012. On August 11, 2012, Romney selected Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate.

Barack Obama ran and won re-election on the Democratic ticket. Gary Johnson ran as a Libertarian and Jill Stein ran for the Green Party.

U.S. presidential election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent	51.3%	65,899,660	332
	Republican	Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan	47.4%	60,932,152	206
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson/Jim Gray	1%	1,275,804	0
	Green	Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala	0.4%	469,501	0
Total Votes				128,577,117	538
Election results via: FEC official election results

Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Roseanne Barr, Rocky Anderson, Thomas Hoefling, Jerry Litzel, Jeff Boss, Merlin Miller, Randall Terry, Jill Reed, Richard Duncan, Andre Barnett, Chuck Baldwin, Barbara Washer, Tom Stevens, Virgil Goode, Will Christensen, Stewart Alexander, James Harris, Jim Carlson, Sheila Tittle, Peta Lindsay, Gloria La Riva, Jerry White, Dean Morstad and Jack Fellure.

2008 Presidency

Romney formally announced his 2008 run for U.S. President on February 13, 2007 at the Henry Ford Museum outside of Detroit, Michigan. Ultimately losing the Republican nomination to John McCain, Romney spent $110 million during his campaign, $45 million of which was his own money.

2002

Romney was elected as Governor of Massachusetts on November 5, 2002.

Governor/Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey	49.8%	1,091,988
	Democratic	Shannon O'Brien and Chris Gabrieli	45%	985,981
	Massachusetts Green	Jill Stein and Tony Lorenzen	3.5%	76,530
	Libertarian	Carla Howell and Rich Aucoin	1.1%	23,044
	Unenrolled	Barbara Johnson and Joe Schebel	0.7%	15,335
Total Votes				2,192,878
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

1994

Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 1994. He was defeated by Edward Kennedy (D).

Campaign themes

2018

Campaign website

Romney’s campaign website stated the following:

“	The Constitution I believe in the wisdom and intent of the United States Constitution. Among constitutional principles which must be reestablished are these: Powers not reserved to the federal government must be returned to the states. States should guide their own policies regarding such matters as education, transportation, healthcare, care for the poor, and school safety. Laws should originate with the Legislative branch not the Judicial branch or unelected bureaucrats. Taxes I support the Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The corporate tax cut will encourage real wage growth; the only way to raise real wages is for businesses to grow, compete with other businesses for employees, and raise the wages they offer to recruit. The tax cut will thus not only let people keep more of their wages, it will help raise their wages. While I would have voted for the Act, had I been in the Senate at the time it was being drafted, I would have fought to make it revenue neutral rather than adding to the deficit. Budget & Debt Like Senator Mike Lee, I am a deficit hawk. I believe it is inexcusable to add $500 billion to $1 trillion annually to the debt, saddling us and our children with hundreds of billions of dollars of interest. I will work with like-minded senators who will oppose a budget process that prevents effective debate, amendments, and spending caps. I will look to eliminate ineffective and wasteful programs and to reform entitlements for people under 55 years of age. The recent “take-it-or-shut-down-government” Continuing Resolution process with no debate, no amendments, no time for review, and no adherence to spending caps must be replaced. I will work with other like-minded senators to refuse to bend to such a tactic. Public Land With two-thirds of Utah held as public land, it is my priority to obtain greater local and state involvement in decision-making and management of public lands. I support multiple use of these lands and will work to prevent excessive land grabs by presidents and federal bureaucrats. The Antiquities Act and the Endangered Species Act should both be reformed to require state approvals and local involvement. The State of Utah should assume management responsibility for select public lands when economically feasible, initially on a pilot basis. Agriculture We should respect and appreciate the contribution of Utah’s agricultural industry to our economy and our security by resolving the uncertainty and federal overreach associated with public land usage, reducing the excessive number of wild horses and burros, and fostering sustainable forest and land management policies. I favor trade policies that open markets for Utah’s agriculture exports. The number of visas for crop, livestock, and dairy workers should be decided on the state level rather than the federal level. Clean Air & Energy I support greater efficiency standards in cars, trucks, and factories to reduce energy consumption and pollution. I support the utilization of all our energy resources including gas, coal, wind, nuclear, geothermal, hydro, and solar. We are fortunate Utah’s coal power plants, which provide over 75 percent of our electricity, are at the forefront of the clean coal industry. Foreign Policy America’s leadership and greatness is the result of our economic strength, a military that is second to none, our promotion of freedom, and the fundamental goodness of our people. The decision to send troops into a foreign country must be made only when a substantial American interest is at stake. This should be a very high hurdle. We should maintain clear superiority in conventional military capabilities and at least parity in nuclear capabilities. American military strength is the best friend peace has ever known. We must promote our values of freedom and free enterprise through our diplomacy, economic ties, alliances and other soft power tools. When nations attack our infrastructure, elections, technology, or vital interests, we should retaliate and punish their behavior with appropriate and meaningful measures. Immigration I support legal immigration. I respect and welcome those who have followed the law and have made the United States their home. Our nation is stronger and more vibrant by virtue of a strong legal immigration system. The legal immigration system should be merit based, giving applicants credit for such things as English fluency, having a trade or technical skill, personal savings, and advanced degrees so these individuals may become assets to their communities and prosper in our country. I firmly oppose illegal immigration. I support measures to secure our national borders. I support a simplified legal status verification system that will allow an employer to know whether a prospective employee is in the United States legally and that will sanction employers who nevertheless hire people here illegally. I support President Trump’s proposal, made earlier this year, to give Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) individuals legal status. However, I oppose giving these individuals a special pathway to citizenship. I support ending chain migration and the visa lottery program. Trade & Tariffs I support trade with other countries; as a net export state, Utah benefits from foreign trade. In some instances, nations or companies have cheated on trade agreements and America should take punitive action against them. Further, we have done too little to help American citizens who have been disproportionately impacted by automation and trade policies. I oppose broad-based tariffs but I will support focused tariffs that penalize cheaters and dumping. President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs are being narrowed to impact only the offending nations rather than our EU, Canadian, or Mexican allies. As a net-exporting state, trade benefits Utah’s economy. Healthcare The Affordable Care Act should be repealed and not replaced by another one-size-fits all bureaucracy. In its place, states should be given flexibility with their Medicaid funds to implement their own programs for caring for the poor. Health insurance costs must be reined in. I will apply my career experience in healthcare and finance to install market-based incentives to reduce costs. This will include transparency in provider pricing and quality information to consumers. I will promote cost-sharing insurance policies and health savings accounts. Further, I support requiring pharmaceutical companies to spread the cost of drug development with other countries, reducing the huge price inequity Americans experience. Opioid Crisis A multi-front approach is needed. On the supply front: pressure Mexico, China, and other countries to curtail the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.; establish better detection at our border; stop drug companies from promoting opioids to physicians; make it easier for law enforcement to shut down “drug mills” that fill obviously false prescriptions; and establish a federal database to identify multiple prescribers and abusers across state lines. On the demand front: provide counseling and treatment for those who want to escape drug addictions; and assure that first responders are equipped with necessary medications to prevent overdose deaths. Second Amendment I support the second amendment. Gun laws and school safety measures should be established by each state, not imposed by the federal government. I do not support newly proposed federal gun legislation with the exception of the removal of bump stocks for public sale and an updated background check system promoted by Congress and President Trump. Life, Family & Religion I am pro-life and pro-family. I will defend religious liberty and will only vote to confirm judicial nominees who will fully honor the First Amendment guarantee of the same. Utah Values My parents were both raised in Utah and thus my home was imbued with Utah values; they filled us with the love of God, reverence for freedom, respect for others, and the importance of service, civility, and frugality. Ann and I have enjoyed our residency in Utah for ten years, first during college, while leading the Olympics, and after my career, having made Utah our permanent home. Action, Not Just Talk By virtue of the relationships I have in Washington, with other senators and the President, I will be able to accomplish more for the people of Utah than the average junior senator. I have built valuable relationships throughout my decades of work in public service, as head of the Salt Lake Olympics, and during my presidential campaigns, that will prepare me to serve the people of Utah through meaningful action. Talk is cheap but action is essential if we are to overcome the challenges facing our families, our state, and our nation. My record of getting things done in the private sector, community, and government, is evidence that I can and will do what needs to be done for the people of Utah.	”
—Mitt Romney’s campaign website (2018)

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Mitt Romney. Click [show] for more information.

Mitt Romney Campaign Contributions
	2002 Governor of Massachusetts
Total raised	$9,456,557
Total raised by opponents	$5,910,550 (Democrat) $290,020 (Libertarian) $162,464 (Green)
Top 5 contributors	Mitt Romney	$6,150,570
	Boston Harbor Hotel	$1,005
	Paul Senecal	$1,000
	Linda Stone	$1,000
	8 others	$1,000
Individuals	$3,119,116
Institutions	$5,685
In-state donations	$8,694,930
Out-of-state donations	$590,534

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Romney and his wife, Ann, have five sons. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Noteworthy events

Tested negative for coronavirus on March 24, 2020

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

On March 24, 2020, Romney's office announced he tested negative for coronavirus. Romney announced a self-quarantine on March 22, 2020, after learning that U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Pa.) tested positive for the virus.

Coronavirus pandemic
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Recent news

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Mitt Romney News Feed

See also

• Portal:Elections
• Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election
• Presidential election, 2016
• United States Senate
• United States Senate election in Utah, 2018

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Orrin Hatch	U.S. Senate - Utah 2019-present	Succeeded by -