Mitt Romney Fails to Secure Utah Senate Nomination

Mitt Romney failed to secure his party's nomination for retiring Orrin Hatch's Utah Senate seat on Sunday. The former Republican candidate for President will now head to a June primary after a wild day of voting at the state's nominating convention. 

Romney was among a dozen Republican candidates who want a chance to run for Hatch's seat in November. However, he was unable to secure the 60% of the votes needed, and thus the nomination. 

During the second round of voting, state representative Mark Kennedy took the top spot with 50.88% of the vote, with Romney securing 49.12%. The pair will now face off in a primary set for June 26th - the first such primary since 2010. 

Romney was endorsed by President Donald Trump for the seat, despite how the candidate took a tough line against the president during the 2016 campaign. 

@MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement!

Romney accepted Trump's tweet, with one of his own. 

Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah.

Romney re-emerged as a candidate for the Utah senate seat following Hatch's announcement he would retire this year. He made his Senate bid official in a video posted to his social media channels, saying now is "the right time to serve" Utah and its people. 

"I have decided to run for United States Senate because I believe I can help bring Utah's values and Utah's lessons to Washington. Utah is a better model for Washington than Washington is for Utah," he said in the video announcing his campaign. 


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