Mitt Romney: Difference between revisions

| term_end = <!--January 3, 2025-->

| successor = [[John Curtis (Utah politician)|John Curtis]]

| order1 = 70th [[Governor of Massachusetts]]

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1947|3|12}}

| birth_place = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = {{nowrapubl |[[Stanford University]] |[[Brigham Young University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<br />|[[Harvard University]] ([[JD–MBAJuris Doctor|JD]], [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]])}}

| awards = ''[[#Awards and honors|List of honors and awards]]''

| website = {{URLurl|romney.senate.gov|Senate website}}

'''Willard Mitt Romney''' (born March 12, 1947) is an American retired politician, businessman, and lawyerbusinessman servingwho as the junior [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from [[Utah]] since 2019. He served aswas the 70th [[governor of Massachusetts]] from 2003 to 2007 and was, the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]'s nominee for [[president of the United States]] in the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 election]], and a [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from [[Utah]] from 2019 to 2025.

Mitt Romney is the son of [[George W. Romney]], a former governor of [[Michigan]]. Raised in [[Bloomfield Hills, Michigan]], heMitt spent over two years in France as a [[Mormon missionary]]. He married [[Ann Romney|Ann Davies]] in 1969; they have five sons. Active in [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) throughout his adult life, Romney served as [[Bishop (Latter Day Saints)|bishop]] of his [[Ward (LDS Church)|ward]] and later as a [[Stake (LDS Church)|stake president]] for an area covering Boston and many of its suburbs. By 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both his parents. In 1971, Romney graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[English studies|English]] from [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU) and in 1975 he received a [[JD–MBA]] degree from [[Harvard University|Harvard]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-with-english-majors-2013-5 |first1=Vivian |last1=Giang |first2=Lynne |last2=Guey |first3=Max |last3=Nisen |date=May 16, 2013 |work=[[Business Insider]] |title=16 Wildly Successful People Who Majored In English |access-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031202453/https://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-with-english-majors-2013-5 |url-status=live }}</ref> He became a management consultant and in 1977 joined [[Bain & Company]] in [[Boston]]. As Bain's [[chief executive officer]] (CEO), he helped lead the company out of a financial crisis<!-- this is supported by detailed material and sources in body of article -->. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company [[Bain Capital]], a [[private equity]] investment firm that became one of the [[List of private equity firms|largest of its kind]] in the nation.<!-- this is supported by detailed material and sources in body of article -->

Generally considered a [[Moderate Republican (modern United States)|moderate or more neoconservative Republican]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2022 |title=Is Mitt Romney doing a good job in the Senate? More Democrats than Republicans in Utah think so |url=https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/7/27/23280627/mitt-romney-job-approval-rating-senate-washington-centrist-moderate-bipartisan-utah-poll |access-date=August 20, 2022 |website=[[Deseret News]] |language=en |archive-date=August 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820172201/https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/7/27/23280627/mitt-romney-job-approval-rating-senate-washington-centrist-moderate-bipartisan-utah-poll |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2022 |title=Are Republicans showing Mitt Romney more love? New Utah poll has the answers |url=https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/2/2/22913085/do-republicans-like-mitt-romney-poll-numbers-joe-biden-donald-trump-hinckley-inistitute-utah |access-date=August 20, 2022 |website=[[Deseret News]] |language=en |archive-date=August 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820172200/https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/2/2/22913085/do-republicans-like-mitt-romney-poll-numbers-joe-biden-donald-trump-hinckley-inistitute-utah |url-status=live }}</ref> Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict [[Donald Trump]] in his [[First impeachment trial of Donald Trump|first impeachment trial]], making him the first senator ever to have voted to remove a president of the same party from office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21125118/mitt-romney-impeachment-vote-history|title= Mitt Romney just did something that literally no senator has ever done before|website= [[Vox (website)|Vox]]|date= February 5, 2020|accessdate= January 1, 2023|archive-date= January 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102014601/https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21125118/mitt-romney-impeachment-vote-history|url-status= live}}</ref> Romney also voted to convict in Trump's [[Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|second trial]] in 2021. He marched alongside [[Black Lives Matter]] protestors, voted to confirm both [[AmyKetanji ConeyBrown Barrett]]Jackson andSupreme Court nomination|confirm [[Ketanji Brown Jackson]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], supported [[Bipartisan Safer Communities Act|gun control]] measures, and did not vote for Trump in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]] and [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]] presidential elections. He has long been hawkish on issues such as [[Iran–United States relations|Iran]], [[China–United States relations|China]], and [[Russia–United States relations|Russia]], and is one of [[Israel]]'s staunchest supporters in Congress. He has been accused by Trump loyalists of being a [[Republican in Name Only|Republican In Name Only]]. In 2023, Romney announced he would not run for [[2024 United States Senate election in Utah|reelection in 2024]] and would retire from the Senate when his term expiresexpired in 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Balz |first=Dan |date=September 13, 2023 |title=Mitt Romney says he will not seek a second term in the Senate |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/13/mitt-romney-senate-reelection/ |access-date=September 13, 2023 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=September 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913213815/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/13/mitt-romney-senate-reelection/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 1993, Romney had begun thinking about entering politics, partly on Ann's urging and also to follow in his father's footsteps.<ref name="bgseries4" /> He decided to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senatorsenator [[Ted Kennedy]], who was seeking reelection to a sixth term. Political pundits viewed Kennedy as vulnerable that year, in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole, and in part because this was Kennedy's first election since the [[William Kennedy Smith#Sexual assault accusations|William Kennedy Smith trial]] in Florida, in which Kennedy's reputation had suffered.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref>{{Cite news|author=Marcus, Ruth|title=Clinton Gets a Sense of the Real Thing; Kennedy and Massachusetts Democrats Put on a Campaign Rally|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 21, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4LEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6812,1794559|title=Ted Kennedy lacks luster as he seeks re-election|author=Trott, Robert W.|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Daily News (Kentucky)|Daily News]]|location=Bowling Green, Kentucky|date=July 17, 1994|page=12C|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=February 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208095737/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4LEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6812,1794559|url-status=live}}</ref> Romney changed his affiliation to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994.<ref name="bgseries4" /> In addition to his leave from [[Bain Capital]], Romney also stepped down from his church leadership role in 1994.<ref name="lat-church" />

In an attempt to overcome the image that had damaged him in the 1994 Senate race – that of a wealthy corporate buyout specialist out of touch with the needs of regular people – the campaign staged a series of "work days", in which Romney performed blue-collar jobs such as herding cows and baling hay, unloading a fishing boat, and hauling garbage.<ref name="baylesgolden" /><ref name="Kleinshirtless">{{cite news |last=Klein |first=Rick |title=New Ads, 'Work Days' Show Down-to-Earth Candidate |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/269/metro/New_ads_work_days_show_down_to_earth_candidate+.shtml |date=September 26, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021002043211/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/269/metro/New_ads_work_days_show_down_to_earth_candidate%2B.shtml |archive-date=October 2, 2002 |url-status=dead }} Also available with photo as [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sVFOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1371,5073072 "Mitt takes his shirt off as campaign heats up"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204222108/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sVFOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1371,5073072 |date=December 4, 2020 }}, ''Deseret News'', September 27, 2002.</ref><ref name="MigaFuzzy" /> Television ads highlighting the effort, as well as one portraying his family in gushing terms and showing him shirtless,<ref name="Kleinshirtless" /> received a poor public response and were a factor in his Democratic opponent, [[Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts|Massachusetts State Treasurer]] [[Shannon O'Brien (Massachusetts politician)|Shannon O'Brien]], leading in the polls as late as mid-October.<ref name="baylesgolden">{{cite news|last=Bayles|first=Fred|title=Romney may be losing his touch in Mass|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2002-10-15-massgov-usat_x.htm|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=October 16, 2002|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-date=October 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006134313/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2002-10-15-massgov-usat_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MigaFuzzy">{{cite news|last=Miga|first=Andrew|title=Don't expect a warm and fuzzy Romney this fall|url=http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120405/PC1603/120409549|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Post and Courier]]|date=April 5, 2012|access-date=June 3, 2012|archive-date=September 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929154441/http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120405/PC1603/120409549|url-status=live}}</ref> He responded with ads that accused O'Brien of being a failed watchdog for state pension fund losses in the stock market and that associated her husband, a former lobbyist, with the [[Enron scandal]].<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="MigaFuzzy" /> These were effective in capturing independent voters.<ref name="MigaFuzzy" /> O'Brien said that Romney's budget plans were unrealistic; the two also differed on capital punishment and bilingual education, with Romney supporting the former and opposing the latter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/02/us/the-2002-campaign-the-accusations-tight-and-heated-race-rages-in-massachusetts.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320191725/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/02/us/the-2002-campaign-the-accusations-tight-and-heated-race-rages-in-massachusetts.html |archive-date=March 20, 2013 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Tight and Heated Race Rages in Massachusetts|first=Pam |last=Belluck|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 2, 2002}}</ref>

==U.S. Senate (2019–present2019–2025)==

|candidate = [[Shannon O'Brien (Massachusetts politician)|Shannon O'Brien]] ([[Chris Gabrieli]])

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200205213032/https://wwwedition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/02/05/mitt-romney-trump-impeachment-trial-vote-announcement-full-vpx.cnn Video of his explanation to the Senate why he plans to vote to convict President Trump in the Senate impeachment trial] from [[CNN]]

{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Utah|United States Senator (Class 1) from Utah]]|years=2019–present2019–2025|alongside=[[Mike Lee]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[KevinHeidi CramerHeitkamp]]|as=UnitedFormer StatesUS Senator from [[North Dakota]]}}

{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]] <br>''{{small|as UnitedFormer StatesUS Senator from [[Utah]]}} ''|years=since January 3, 2019}}

{{s-aft|after=[[KyrstenHarrison SinemaSchmitt]]|as=UnitedFormer StatesUS Senator from [[Arizona]]}}

{{USCongRep-start | congresses= 116th–present116th–118th [[United States Congress]] | state=[[Utah]]}}

{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2=United States|portal3=Latter Day Saint movement|portal4=Olympics|portal5=Conservatism |portal6=Politics|portal7=Massachusetts|portal8=Utah |commons=yes |wikt=yes |n=yes |n-search=Category:Mitt Romney |q=yes |s=yes |s-search=Author:Willard Mitt Romney |b=yes |d=yes |d-search=Q4496}}

[[Category:Mitt Romney| *]]