Romney dominates 2024 Senate field as he weighs reelection run in Utah: Poll

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) dominates early polling against a growing field of GOP challengers even before he’s announced whether he plans to run for a second term in 2024.

Roughly 30% of Utah voters say they would vote for Romney in a hypothetical match-up with a slate of other potential candidates, according to a recent poll by Noble Predictive Insights. That puts him ahead of Attorney General Sean Reyes, who came in at a distant second with 13% support. A majority of voters, 39%, remain undecided.

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Although Romney has not yet announced whether he intends to run again, he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission in April to allow him to begin fundraising. At least one other candidate, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, has entered the race to challenge Romney, and several others are expected to follow suit.

Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson is poised to run for the Senate seat after launching an exploratory committee earlier this year, later reporting a record-breaking fundraising haul for the most money raised by a GOP Senate candidate or potential candidate in their first three months. An announcement on his plans is expected to come sometime in the fall, Wilson told the Washington Examiner.

Roughly 5% of voters say they’d back Wilson in the poll, compared to just 3% for Staggs — putting both prospective candidates in the single digits as they seek to overcome Romney.

If he runs for another term, Romney, who was previously the governor of Massachusetts and the 2012 Republican nominee for president, would benefit from the advantage of incumbency.

The Republican senator has attracted backlash due to his willingness to break with his party on several issues, especially regarding former President Donald Trump. Romney is the only Republican senator to vote to impeach Trump twice. However, conservative anti-Trump sentiment is more pronounced in Utah than in other red states, which is expected to help his standing.

Utah voters remain split on whether Romney should run for another term, with only 33% saying he should, compared to 54% who say he should not, according to the poll. Another 12% said they were unsure.

Romney has expressed confidence in his chances should he decide to enter the race.

“I’ll make that assessment over the coming months, and sometime in the spring or summer, I’ll make that decision,” Romney told reporters in February. “I’m confident that I would win if I decide to run. I’ll have the resources, and I believe the people of Utah would be with me.”

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If Romney opts not to run, however, the primary field experiences a dramatic shift as voters consider who they would want to succeed the one-term incumbent. With no Romney present, 16% of voters say they’d back Reyes, while 8% say they would want Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson. Another 55% would be undecided if Romney is not on the ballot.

The Noble Predictive Insights poll surveyed 598 registered voters in Utah from July 7 to 18 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.