Mitt Romney, a prominent Republican critic of President Donald Trump, has announced that he is running for Utah’s US Senate seat.
Mr Romney is expected to easily win the race to replace retiring Republican Senator Orrin Hatch.
“Given all that America faces, we feel that this is the right time for me to serve our state and our country,” Mr Romney said in a video posted on Twitter.
The announcement comes as Democrats are seeking to retake majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives in November. Republicans also appear to be facing a conundrum over whether they should stand up to the President, who has often attacked members of his own party and makes frequent controversial comments.
But Mr Romney appears to have no qualms about bashing the President.
The former Massachusetts governor has spoken out against Mr Trump multiple times, criticising him during the 2016 election and when he hesitated to condemn white supremacists last year.
In March 2016, he bashed Mr Trump as a “phony” and “a fraud” and said he couldn’t vote for him.
Mr Romney, immensely popular among Utah’s Mormon base, in 2012 became the first-ever Mormon to secure a major-party presidential nomination. He ultimately lost to President Barack Obama, who was re-elected for a second presidential term.
