Sen. Mitt Romney will not seek reelection in 2024

Utah Republican Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he will end his more than 20-year political career when his term as a U.S. Senator concludes in January 2025. Romney, 76, said in a video statement that it is time for a new generation of leaders in Washington. Before running for president for the first time in 2008, Romney served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. A former businessman, he gained national attention while taking over the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012 and was sworn into the U.S. Senate in 2019.

What has been Romney’s role in the Senate? Romney has had a relatively moderate voting record. For instance, he was the only Republican in 2020 to vote against former President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. In his video address Wednesday, Romney criticized Trump and President Joe Biden for how they have addressed national debt, climate change, and the growing power of China and Russia.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Edward Lee Pitts’ report about Mitt Romney’s Mormon religion and his 2012 presidential campaign.