Once he started thinking about retirement last year, Sen. Orrin Hatch pitched Mitt Romney on the idea of running to replace him.
Hatch tells the Boston Globe he met with Romney in Washington, D.C. last March and presented him with a memo laying out the case for why the former GOP presidential nominee should think about launching a candidacy in a memo.
“I told him it was likely I would retire, and I’d sure like to have him succeed me,” Hatch, a senator since 1977, said in an interview. “It would be good for Utah, it would be good for the country. And he could continue his life of public service in a way that would have great meaning.”
“As I was thinking about retiring I was thinking, ‘I don’t want some dud to replace me,’” Hatch said. “I want somebody who’s capable and could carry on some of the things I’ve worked so hard to do. And Romney fits that bill 100 percent in my opinion.
“He would be low in seniority,” Hatch added. “But he would have immediate attention because of his personality, his attractive appearance and ability to speak, and the experiences he’s had.”
The Globe also reports that until Hatch started recruiting him, Romney did not seriously consider running for U.S. Senate, instead thinking he might launch the political careers of his children Josh and Tagg.
Romney is expected to officially launch his campaign for Senate next week.
