Romney has first challenger in Utah mayor if he decides to run for reelection

A Utah mayor has entered the 2024 Senate race for the seat held by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), becoming the first conservative to challenge the senator if he seeks reelection.

Republican Trent Staggs, who was elected as mayor of Riverton, Utah, in 2020, announced he is running on Tuesday because he feels Romney has let personal problems get in the way of his governing and he could no longer sit on the sidelines.

WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT, AND WHO’S STILL WAITING TO ANNOUNCE FOR SENATE IN 2024

“Unfortunately, Mitt Romney has let personal beefs get in the way of good governance,” Stagg told Fox News. “From not standing with Mike Lee against raising the debt ceiling to voting for the $1.7 trillion omnibus, he has helped drive us deeper in debt. He votes to impeach President Trump but then has the nerve to confirm a radical justice like Ketanji Brown Jackson and incompetent Cabinet members like open border [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas.”

During his announcement video, Stagg slammed Romney for not fulfilling his campaign promises, which included promises to find an “end to illegal immigration,” push back against federal overreach, and confirm justices he believed followed the U.S. Constitution.

“A few years ago, Mitt Romney moved to Utah and told us what he would fight for,” Staggs said in the video. “But the only thing I’ve seen him fight for are the establishment, wokeness, open borders, impeaching President Trump, and putting us even deeper into debt.”

Staggs attracted attention during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when he announced that he would not force local police to enforce a county mask mandate, even though COVID-19 cases were on the rise. He told Fox News on Tuesday that he does not believe it is the place of the government to “dictate our daily lives.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Although Staggs is the first challenger to Romney, other state Republicans have toyed with the idea of running against the senator next year. Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, a Republican, launched an exploratory committee to consider running for the Senate last month but has not made a decision.

Romney, who was elected to the Senate in 2018, has not announced a bid for reelection next year, but he recently filed paperwork with Federal Election Commission.