Republicans interested in Romney leading NRSC: report

Mitt Romney hasn’t announced whether he’s running for Senate yet, but Republicans are already considering him as the next head of their fundraising arm, according to a report in The Atlantic.

In a fundraising call with a GOP donor this week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s current chairman, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), reportedly said that he “liked Romney” as a possible successor.

{mosads}

A source close to Romney speculated to the publication that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had already thrown his support behind the idea, and went further, saying McConnell was likely the one pushing it.

A spokesperson for McConnell told The Atlantic that they were unaware of any conversations Gardner has had with Romney.

“I was not on any Gardner calls yesterday and am therefore unaware of any conversations he may have had,” the spokesperson said.

Romney has not made an official campaign announcement, but was rumored for months to be considering a run to succeed retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who announced his retirement in early January.

Hatch has already named Romney as his favored replacement, saying it would be a “great thing for America” for Romney to join the Senate.

“I’ve expressed interest to him,” Hatch said last year. “I can see why he might not want to do it, but I can also see why if he did it, it would be a great thing for America.”

The former Massachusetts governor has reportedly told insiders that he is running, and on Thursday tweeted that he would make his official announcement concerning the Utah Senate race on Feb. 15.

“Looking forward to making an announcement on February 15th about the Utah Senate race,” Romney tweeted, along with a link to his website.

Looking forward to making an announcement on February 15th about the Utah Senate race. https://t.co/OLXWZWREEK

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 1, 2018