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Mitt Romney might be back in the game.

After publicly weighing a repeat presidential bid, then publicly denouncing Donald Trump, then unsuccessfully seeking to become Trump's secretary of state, Romney is reportedly considering a 2018 Senate run in Utah.

The Atlantic's McKay Coppins reports:

According to six sources familiar with the situation, Romney has spent recent weeks actively discussing a potential 2018 Senate bid with a range of high-level Republicans in both Utah and Washington, and has privately signaled a growing interest in the idea. Romney, though, has made clear he would not pursue the seat without Hatchs blessing.

Romney, of course, served as governor of Massachusetts, not Utah. But his Utah bona fides are crystal clear, and he'd undoubtedly waltz into the Senate if he ran. Other interested candidates aren't even pretending they'd run against the guy who won Utah by 48 points in his 2012 presidential run.

But one person who should be watching this with particular concern is President Trump.

Basically no Republican criticized Trump as harshly as Romney did on the 2016 campaign trail. Yes, Romney then sought to lead Trump's State Department and said some nice things about Trump, but he was turned down for that job, which may make the fire burn even hotter.

And most importantly, Romney wouldn't really have to temper his opposition to Trump in the Senate at least not in the way other Republicans do. Utah is about equally as anti-Trump as it is pro-Romney. Trump did win the state, but that victory owed entirely to the state's Republican lean. Polls there showed Trump's favorable rating as low as 19 percent and his unfavorable rating as high as 71 percent, largely thanks to Mormons disliking him.

GOP senators like John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.) have certainly been willing to break with Trump publicly on certain things, but they also have pro-Trump constituencies back home to worry about. And their criticisms have never really been of the sort that Romney offered in 2016. A sampling:

These comments were offered in the midst of a primary campaign that Romney wanted someone else to win. And plenty of other Republicans said really bad things about Trump at the time before coming around, endorsing him and trying to make the most of their new Trump realities. But Romney never did at least, not until he thought he could affect the Trump administration from within.

Romney would come in to the Senate with almost unimpeachable power to say whatever he wanted about Trump, should he choose to do so. And in our highly partisan era, it would be a completely unusual and potentially must-see political dynamic.

Originally posted here:
The idea of Senator Mitt Romney should scare Trump - Washington Post