Mitt Romney | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| United States Senator from Utah | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 Serving with Mike Lee | |
| Preceded by | Orrin Hatch |
| 70th Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007 | |
| Lieutenant | Kerry Healey |
| Preceded by | Jane Swift (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Deval Patrick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Willard Mitt Romney March 12, 1947 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (1993–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (before 1993) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, including Tagg |
| Parent(s) | George W. Romney Lenore LaFount |
| Relatives | Romney family |
| Residence(s) | Holladay, Utah, U.S.[1] |
| Education | Brigham Young University (BA) Harvard University (JD–MBA) |
| Occupation | Businessman, investor, politician, writer |
| Profession | Lawyer, management consultant |
| Awards | List of honors and awards |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website |
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|---|---|---|
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Governor of Massachusetts
Presidential campaigns
U.S. Senator from Utah
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Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since 2019. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election.
Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, he spent over two years in France as a Mormon missionary. He married 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 of his ward and later as a 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 from Brigham Young University (BYU) and in 1975 he received a JD–MBA degree from Harvard.[2] 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. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
After stepping down from his positions at Bain Capital and in the LDS Church, Romney ran as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1994 and lost to the incumbent, Ted Kennedy. He then resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later, a successful stint as president and CEO of the then-struggling Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. Elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney helped develop and later signed a health care reform law (commonly called "Romneycare") that provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and closing corporate tax loopholes. He did not seek reelection in 2006, instead focusing on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election, which he lost to Senator John McCain. Romney ran for president again four years later and was the Republican nominee in the 2012 presidential election, becoming the first LDS Church member to be a major party's nominee. He lost the election to President Barack Obama. After reestablishing residency in Utah, Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 2018. When Romney won the Republican nomination and general election, he became the first person in modern American history to be elected governor and U.S. senator of different states.[3]
Generally considered a moderate or more neoconservative Republican,[4][5] Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial, making him the first senator ever to have voted to remove a president of the same party from office.[6] Romney also voted to convict in Trump's second trial in 2021. He marched alongside Black Lives Matter protestors, voted to confirm both Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, supported gun control measures, and did not vote for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. He has long been hawkish on issues such as Iran, China, and 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. In 2023, Romney announced he would not run for reelection in 2024 and would retire from the Senate when his term expires in 2025.[7]
- ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (January 2, 2018). "Mitt Romney just changed his Twitter location from Massachusetts to Utah". Boston.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Giang, Vivian; Guey, Lynne; Nisen, Max (May 16, 2013). "16 Wildly Successful People Who Majored In English". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ Schott, Bryan (September 12, 2017). "Romney could be first person to be a Governor and Senator for two different states in more than 100 years". Utah Policy. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ^ "Is Mitt Romney doing a good job in the Senate? More Democrats than Republicans in Utah think so". Deseret News. July 27, 2022. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ "Are Republicans showing Mitt Romney more love? New Utah poll has the answers". Deseret News. February 3, 2022. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ "Mitt Romney just did something that literally no senator has ever done before". Vox. February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ Balz, Dan (September 13, 2023). "Mitt Romney says he will not seek a second term in the Senate". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.