Rep. John Curtis to run for Utah Senate seat to replace retiring Mitt Romney

Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) will forgo reelection to his Utah House seat and will instead run to replace the retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in the Senate, the third-term Republican announced on Tuesday.

Curtis, who represents the 3rd Congressional District in Utah, which encompasses much of the eastern portion of the state, will file for the race on Wednesday, he said. The announcement comes just three months after Curtis initially said he would not run for the statewide seat, later reversing course after he said several supporters approached him to reconsider.

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“The very people who had made that commitment … were a lot of those voices who said, ‘You can actually serve us better in the Senate than you can in the House.’ And so without that, I don’t think I could have changed my mind,” Curtis told KSL TV.

Curtis also said he experienced an “aha moment” when he realized he could still focus on some of his biggest focus areas, such as climate and energy, but with a “bigger platform” that would allow him to “accomplish more.”

Rick Bowmer/AP

Curtis joins a crowded field of Republican candidates seeking to replace Romney, who will step down from office when his term expires next year. Curtis benefits from widespread name recognition after first being elected to represent Utah’s 3rd District in the House in 2017.

The Republican incumbent will face opponents such as former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who announced their intentions to run for Senate months ago and have been fundraising ever since. Wilson has especially reported strong fundraising numbers, raking in more than $2.2 million in the first quarter of his campaign, which is the most money raised by any GOP Senate candidate or likely candidate in their first three months.

(Rick Bowmer/AP)

“Utahns from every corner of the state are backing Brad Wilson because Brad is the only candidate who’s a bold conservative and does things the Utah Way, not the Washington Way. Utah wants a Senator who is a fearless conservative and will shatter the status quo, not another career politician from D.C.,” Wilson said in a written statement.

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Curtis is also set to face other challengers, such as Clark White and Robert Newcomb, who both filed for the race on Tuesday. Brent Orrin Hatch, the son of former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, has also announced he intends to file.

The race for Utah’s Senate seat is not expected to be competitive because the state is reliably Republican and has not elected a Democratic senator since 1970. However, if Curtis emerges victorious in the primary election, his candidacy will leave open his House seat in the state’s 3rd District, which could also attract a crowded field of GOP contenders.