Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) is running for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). First told KSL-TV in Salt Lake City on tuesday.
He joins what is expected to be a crowded primary for the seat that also includes Brent Hatch, the son of the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who represented the Beehive State for more than 40 years.
Curtis teased a Senate run in late September. wrote an editorial A few days later, he announced in the Deseret News his determination to seek re-election to the House of Representatives in 2024.
“The moment I announced I wasn't running, I started getting calls asking me to reconsider,” Curtis told KSL-TV. “The people who made that promise were the ones who were often the ones who said, 'Actually, the Senate can serve us better than the House.' So I don't think we would have been able to change our minds without that.” Masu.”
He said his track record of passing legislation and his experience as a three-term lawmaker will prepare him well for the Senate.
“Bringing that in and also focusing on Utah. People know I'm not the kind of guy who gets up at night and tries to go on TV. I wake up and say, , 'What can we do for the community?' And I think people really appreciate that,” he said, according to KSL-TV.
Curtis is a former mayor of Provo, Utah, and represents the Provo area in Congress. He considered himself a Democrat until 2006.
Mr. Romney has said he does not intend to seek re-election in September. Utah Republican Party Chairman Robert Axon told The Hill at the time that about a dozen people were “seriously considering” running for the seat.
“This is going to be a blockbuster Republican primary,” Damon Kang, chair of the political science department at Utah State University, told The Hill in September. “Make no mistake. There aren't many vacancies in the Utah Senate.”
Other notable candidates seeking Mr. Romney's seat include Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and several Republican mayors. The state is not expected to be competitive for Democrats.
The Utah Senate primary is June 25th.
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