Mitt Romney

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Featured article Template:Pp-move Template:Pp-blp Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Template:Mitt Romney series Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. He was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

Mitt Romney is a son of George W. Romney, a former governor of Michigan. Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Mitt 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 completed a JD–MBA program from Harvard. 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.

Romney 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Generally considered a moderate or neoconservative Republican,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Romney also voted to convict in Trump's second trial in 2021. He marched alongside Black Lives Matter protestors, voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, supported gun control measures, and did not vote for Trump in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections. He has long been hawkish on relations with Iran, China, and Russia, and was one of Israel's staunchest supporters in Congress. In 2023, Romney announced he would not run for reelection in 2024 and retired from the Senate when his term expired in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early and personal life

Heritage and youth

Willard Mitt Romney<ref name="mitt-bc">Template:Cite news Also see "State of Michigan Certificate of Live Birth" Template:Webarchive.</ref> was born on March 12, 1947, at Harper University Hospital in Detroit, Michigan,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> one of four children born to automobile executive George W. Romney and actress and homemaker Lenore Romney (née LaFount).<ref>Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 59–62, 104, 113.</ref> His mother was a native of Logan, Utah, and his father was born to American parents in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, Mexico.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of primarily English descent, he also has Scottish and German ancestry.<ref>Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 52, 70.</ref><ref name="rsgsg">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="rsgsgs">Template:Cite news</ref> A fifth-generation member of the LDS Church, he is a great-grandson of Miles Park Romney and a great-great-grandson of Miles Romney, who converted to Mormonism in its first decade. Another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, helped lead the early church.<ref name="bgseries2">Template:Cite news Also available as "Mitt's LDS roots run deep" Template:Webarchive, Deseret Morning News, July 2, 2007.</ref><ref name="FaithRise">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney in Cranbrook School's 1965 yearbook

Romney has three older siblings: Margo, Jane, and Scott.<ref>Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 104, 113.</ref> He was named after a family friend, businessman J. Willard Marriott, and his father's cousin, Milton "Mitt" Romney, a former quarterback for the Chicago Bears.<ref name="real-14">Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 14–15.</ref> Romney was called "Billy" until kindergarten, when he expressed a preference for "Mitt".<ref name="crim102194">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1953, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills and his father became the chairman and CEO of American Motors the following year and helped the company avoid bankruptcy and return to profitability.<ref name="real-15">Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 15–16.</ref> By 1959, his father had become a nationally known figure in print and on television,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Mitt idolized him.<ref name="bgseries1" />

Romney attended public elementary schools until seventh grade, when he enrolled as one of only a few Mormon students at Cranbrook School, a private upscale boys' preparatory school a few miles from his home.<ref name="crim102194" /><ref name="wapo-cran" /> Many students there came from backgrounds even more privileged than his.<ref name="prankster" /> Not particularly athletic, he also did not distinguish himself academically.<ref name="bgseries1" /> He participated in his father's successful 1962 gubernatorial campaign,<ref name="time-prof-2007" /> and later worked as an intern in the governor's office.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="lat-father">Template:Cite news</ref> Romney took up residence at Cranbrook when his newly elected father began spending most of his time at the state capitol.<ref name="wapo-cran">Template:Cite news</ref>

At Cranbrook, Romney helped manage the ice hockey team, and joined the pep squad.<ref name="wapo-cran" /> During his senior year, he joined the cross country running team.<ref name="crim102194" /> He belonged to 11 school organizations and school clubs, including the Blue Key Club, a booster group he had started.<ref name="wapo-cran" /> During his final year there, his academic record improved but fell short of excellence.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="prankster" /> Romney was involved in several pranks while attending Cranbrook. He has since apologized for them, stating that some of them may have gone too far.<ref group="nb">Pranks conducted by Romney during his Cranbrook years included sliding down golf courses on large ice cubes, dressing as a police officer and tapping on the car windows of friends who were making out, and staging an elaborate formal dinner on the median of a busy street.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="prankster" /> The golf course escapade led to Romney and Ann Davies being detained by local police.<ref name="ap-2007-prof">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="fortune-2007">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2012, five former classmates described a 1965 episode where Romney, then a senior, took the lead in holding down a younger student while cutting his long, bleached-blond hair with scissors.<ref name="wapo-cran" /> Romney said that he does not recall the incident, though he acknowledged that he might have participated in some high school "hijinks and pranks" that went too far, and he apologized for any harm that resulted from them.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref></ref> In March of his senior year, he began dating Ann Davies; she attended the private Kingswood School, Cranbrook's sister school.<ref name="prankster">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="real-28">Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 27–29.</ref> The two became informally engaged around the time he graduated from high school in June 1965.<ref name="bgseries1">Template:Cite news Also available from HighBeam. Also available as Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ap-2007-prof" />

College, France mission, marriage, and children

Mitt Romney and Ann Romney with George Romney and Lenore Romney at the White House in 1969

Romney attended Stanford University during the 1965–1966 academic year.<ref name="bgseries1" /> He was not part of the counterculture of the 1960s then taking form in the San Francisco Bay Area.<ref name="bgseries1" /> As opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War grew, a group staged a May 1966 sit-in at Stanford's administration building to demonstrate against draft status tests; Romney joined a counterprotest against that group.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="cbs-rcp-stan">Template:Cite news</ref> He continued to enjoy occasional pranks.<ref group="nb">Pranks conducted by Romney during his Stanford years included dressing as a police officer and pretending to arrest people<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and pre-"Big Game" customs involving the Stanford Axe.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref></ref>

In July 1966, he began a 30-month stint in France as a Mormon missionary,<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a traditional rite of passage in his family.<ref group="nb">Mitt's great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and two uncles had been missionaries,<ref>Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 73–74.</ref> as had his brother, Scott.<ref name="nyt-searching" /> He did briefly consider breaking with tradition and not going on a mission<ref>Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, p. 63.</ref> (and he had successfully been rushed by the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at Stanford, for sophomore year membership).<ref name="cbs-rcp-stan" /> But he did go, and all five of Mitt's sons later served as missionaries as well.<ref name="hewitt-82">Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House?, pp. 81–82.</ref></ref> He arrived in Le Havre, where he shared cramped quarters under meager conditions.<ref name="bgseries2" /><ref name="nyt-searching" /> Rules against drinking, smoking, and dating were strictly enforced.<ref name="bgseries2" />

On average, individual Mormon missionaries do not gain many converts<ref group="nb">Based on figures from 1971 to 2010, the average Mormon gets only 4–8 baptism converts to the faith per year during a mission.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The church succeeds in expanding by having huge numbers of missionaries, so that the small number of conversions from each one add up.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref></ref> and Romney was no exception:<ref name="nyt-searching" /> he later estimated 10 to 20 for his entire mission.<ref>Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, p. 69.</ref><ref group="nb">Romney's task was complicated by proselytizing for a religion that prohibits alcohol in a country known for it.<ref name="bgseries2" /> He reflected upon this in 2002: "As you can imagine, it's quite an experience to go to Bordeaux and say, 'Give up your wine! I've got a great religion for you!Template:' "<ref name="nykr2002" /></ref> He initially became demoralized and later recalled it as the only time when "most of what I was trying to do was rejected."<ref name="nyt-searching">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney soon gained recognition within the mission for the many homes he called on and the repeat visits he was granted.<ref name="bgseries2" /> He became a zone leader in Bordeaux in early 1968, and soon thereafter became an assistant to the mission president in Paris.<ref name="bgseries2" /><ref name="nyt-searching" /><ref name="tlgh-paris" /> While in Paris, Romney resided at the Mission Home for several months, and enjoyed a mansion far more comfortable than the accommodations he experienced elsewhere in the country.<ref name="tlgh-paris">Template:Cite news</ref>

When the French expressed opposition to the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, Romney debated them. Those who yelled at him and slammed their doors in his face merely reinforced his resolve.<ref name="bgseries2" /><ref name="nyt-searching" />

In June 1968, while in southern France and driving an automobile that was hit by another vehicle, Romney was seriously injured. The crash killed one of his passengers, the wife of the mission president.<ref name="nb-acc" group="nb">On June 16, 1968, Romney and five fellow Mormons were traveling on dangerous roads in southern France.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="wapo-mission">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg-accident" /> As they drove through the village of Bernos-Beaulac, a Mercedes that was passing a truck missed a curve and swerved into the opposite lane hitting the Citroën DS Romney was driving head-on.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="lexpress.fr">Template:Cite news</ref> Trapped between the steering wheel and door, the unconscious Romney had to be pried from the car; a French police officer mistakenly wrote Il est mort in his passport.<ref name="bgseries1" /><ref name="ap-2007-prof" /><ref name="bg-accident" /> Besides killing the wife of the mission president, the other four passengers were seriously injured.<ref name="bg-accident" /> George Romney relied on his friend Sargent Shriver, the U.S. Ambassador to France, to go to the local hospital and discover that his son had survived.<ref name="ap-2007-prof" /> Mitt Romney, who was not at fault in the accident,<ref name="nyt-searching" /><ref name="bg-accident">Template:Cite news Also available as Template:Cite news</ref> had suffered broken ribs, a fractured arm, a concussion, and facial injuries, but recovered quickly without needing surgery.<ref name="wapo-mission" /><ref name="bg-accident" /> The French police say that they have no records of the incident because such records are routinely destroyed after 10 years.<ref name="bg-accident" /></ref>

Romney then became co-president of a mission that had become demoralized and disorganized after the May 1968 general strike and student uprisings and the car accident.<ref name="wapo-mission" /> With Romney rallying the others, the mission met its goal of 200 baptisms for the year, the most in a decade.<ref name="wapo-mission" /> By the end of his stint in December 1968, he was overseeing the work of 175 others.<ref name="nyt-searching" /><ref name="bg-accident" /> As a result of his experience there, Romney developed a lifelong affection for France and its people, and has remained fluent in French.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At their first meeting following his return, Romney and Ann Davies reconnected and decided to get married.<ref>Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, p. 88.</ref> Before their wedding, Romney moved to Utah and enrolled at Brigham Young University, where Ann had been studying.Template:R They married on March 21, 1969, in a civil ceremony in Bloomfield Hills and the next day, they flew to Utah for a Mormon wedding ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple; Ann had converted to the faith while he was away.<ref name="bgseries4">Template:Cite news Also available in HighBeam. Also available as "Romney determined to make mark early" Template:Webarchive, Deseret Morning News, July 4, 2007.</ref><ref name="nyt-wedding">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney had missed much of the tumultuous anti-Vietnam War movement in America while in France. Upon his return, he was surprised to learn that his father had joined that movement during his unsuccessful 1968 presidential campaign.<ref name="nyt-searching" /> George was now serving in President Richard Nixon's cabinet as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In a June 1970 newspaper profile of children of cabinet members, Mitt said that U.S. involvement in the war had been misguided – "If it wasn't a political blunder to move into Vietnam, I don't know what is" – but supported Nixon's ongoing Cambodian Incursion as a sincere attempt to end the war.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the U.S. military draft for the Vietnam War, Romney sought and received two 2-S student deferments, then a 4-D ministerial deferment while living in France as a missionary. He later sought and received two additional student deferments.<ref name="cbs-rcp-stan" /><ref name="bg-draft" /> When those ran out, he drew number 300 in the December 1969 draft lottery, ensuring he would not be drafted.<ref name="cbs-rcp-stan" /><ref name="bg-draft">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At culturally conservative BYU, Romney remained separated from much of the upheaval of that era.<ref name="nyt-searching" />Template:R He became president of the Cougar Club booster organization and showed a newfound discipline in his studies.<ref name="nyt-searching" />Template:R During his senior year, he took a leave of absence to work as driver and advance man for his mother's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign;<ref name="ap-2007-prof" /><ref name="bgseries4" /> together, they visited all 83 Michigan counties.<ref name="time-dreams">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-lessons" /> Romney graduated from BYU in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a 3.97 GPA.<ref name="horowitz20120218">Template:Cite news</ref> He gave commencement addresses to both the College of Humanities and the whole of BYU.<ref group="nb">Some sources incorrectly report that Romney graduated first in his class at BYU. Romney himself has corrected this notion, saying that he didn't. While Romney believes he did have the highest grade point average for his on-campus BYU years in the College of Humanities, he did not if his Stanford record was factored in.<ref name="hewitt-46" />Template:R</ref>

The Romneys' first son, Taggart, was born in 1970<ref name="hewitt-82" /> while they were undergraduates at BYU and living in a basement apartment.Template:R Their son Matthew was born in 1971 and Joshua in 1975. Benjamin (1978) and Craig (1981) were born after Romney had begun his career.<ref name="hewitt-82" />

Romney wanted to pursue a business career, but his father advised him that a Juris Doctor degree would be valuable to his career even if he never practiced law.<ref name="bgseries3">Template:Cite news Also available in HighBeam. Also available as "Plenty of 'pitting' preceded Romney's profits" Template:Webarchive, Deseret Morning News, July 3, 2007.</ref><ref name="nyt-harvard">Template:Cite news</ref> As a result, he enrolled in the recently created four-year joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.<ref name="bg-harvard">Template:Cite news</ref> He readily adapted to the business school's pragmatic, data-driven case study method of teaching.<ref name="nyt-harvard" /> Living in a Belmont, Massachusetts, house with Ann and their two children, his social experience differed from that of most of his classmates.<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref name="nyt-harvard" /> He was nonideological and did not involve himself in the political issues of the day.<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref name="nyt-harvard" /> Romney graduated from Harvard in 1975. He was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top 5% of his business school class and received his Juris Doctor degree cum laude for ranking in the top third of his law school class.<ref name="hewitt-46">Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House?, p. 46.</ref><ref name="bg-harvard" />

LDS Church service

During his business career, Romney held several positions in the church's local lay clergy. In the early 1970s, he served in a ward bishopric. He then served for a time as a seminary teacher and then as a member of the stake high council of the Boston Stake while Richard L. Bushman was stake president.<ref name=Horowitz/>

In 1977, he became a counselor to the president of the Boston Stake.<ref name="Horowitz">Template:Cite news</ref> He served as bishop of the ward at Belmont, Massachusetts, from 1981 to 1986.<ref name="wapo-belmont">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-bishop">Template:Cite news</ref> As such, in addition to home teaching, he also formulated Sunday services and classes using LDS scriptures to guide the congregation.<ref name="lat-church" /> After the destruction of the Belmont meetinghouse by a fire of suspicious origins in 1984, he forged links with other religious institutions, allowing the congregation to rotate its meetings to other houses of worship during the reconstruction of the Belmont building.<ref name="nyt-bishop" /><ref name="wbur-belmont">Template:Cite news</ref>

From 1986 to 1994, Romney was president of the Boston Stake, which included more than a dozen wards in eastern Massachusetts and almost 4,000 church members.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /><ref name="lat-church">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Hersh, The Shadow President, p. 123.</ref> He organized a team to handle financial and management issues, sought to counter anti-Mormon sentiment, and tried to solve social problems among poor Southeast Asian converts.<ref name="nyt-bishop" /><ref name="wbur-belmont" /> An unpaid position, his local church leadership often took 30 or more hours a week of his time,<ref name="lat-church" /> and he became known for his considerable energy in the role.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /> He also earned a reputation for avoiding any overnight travel that might interfere with his church responsibilities.<ref name="lat-church" />

Romney took a hands-on role in the Boston Stake's matters, helping in domestic maintenance efforts, visiting the sick, and counseling burdened church members.<ref name="wapo-belmont" /><ref name="nyt-bishop" /><ref name="lat-church" /> A number of local church members later credited him with turning their lives around or helping them through difficult times.<ref name="nyt-bishop" /><ref name="lat-church" /><ref name="wbur-belmont" /> Others, rankled by his leadership style, desired a more consensus-based approach.<ref name="nyt-bishop" /> Romney tried to balance the conservative directives from church leadership in Utah with the desire of some Massachusetts members to have a more flexible application of religious doctrine.<ref name="vf-excerpt">Template:Cite news</ref> He agreed with some requests from a liberal women's group that published Exponent II calling for changes in the way the church dealt with women, but he clashed with women he felt were departing too much from doctrine.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /> In particular, he counseled women not to have abortions except in the rare cases allowed by LDS doctrine<ref name="nb-abor" group="nb" /> and encouraged unmarried women facing unplanned pregnancies to give their babies up for adoption.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /> Romney later said that the years spent as an LDS minister gave him direct exposure to people struggling financially and empathy for those with family problems.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Health

Romney was treated for prostate cancer in summer 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, Romney admitted he was worried about being at risk of Alzheimer's disease due to years of working in high-stress jobs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Business career

Management consulting

After receiving his JD–MBA from Harvard, Romney passed the Michigan bar exam but decided to pursue a career in business rather than law.<ref>Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, p. 97.</ref> He was recruited by several large companies but joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reasoning that working as a management consultant for a variety of companies would better prepare him for a future position as a chief executive.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="MrPowerPoint" /> Part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a large company directly,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> he found his legal and business education useful in his job.<ref name="bgseries3" /> He applied BCG principles such as the growth-share matrix,<ref name="nykr2007" /> and executives viewed him as having a bright future there.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At BCG, he was a colleague of Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he formed a friendship that has lasted for more than 50 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1977, he was hired by Bain & Company, a management consulting firm in Boston formed a few years earlier by Bill Bain and several other ex-BCG employees.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nykr2007" /><ref name="hewitt-48">Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House?, pp. 48–49.</ref> Bain later said of the 30-year-old Romney, "He had the appearance of confidence of a guy who was maybe ten years older."<ref name="howmakemoney">Template:Cite news</ref> Unlike other consulting firms, which issued recommendations and then departed, Bain & Company immersed itself in a client's businesses and worked with them until changes were implemented.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nykr2007" /> Romney became a vice president of the firm in 1978,<ref name="crim102194" /> working with such clients as the Monsanto Company, Outboard Marine Corporation, Burlington Industries, and Corning Incorporated.<ref name="MrPowerPoint" /> Within a few years, the firm considered him one of its best consultants. In fact, clients sometimes preferred to use him rather than more-senior partners.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="vf-excerpt" />

Minor political issues

Two family incidents during this time later surfaced during Romney's political campaigns.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wapo-dog">Template:Cite news</ref> A state park ranger in 1981 told Romney his motorboat had an insufficiently visible license number and that he would face a $50 fine if he took the boat onto the lake. Disagreeing about the license and wanting to continue a family outing, Romney took it out anyway, saying he would pay the fine. The ranger arrested him for disorderly conduct. The charges were dropped several days later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1983, on a 12-hour family road trip, he placed the family's dog in a windshield-equipped carrier on the roof of their car, and then washed the car and carrier after the dog suffered a bout of diarrhea.<ref name="bgseries4" /> The dog incident in particular later became fodder for Romney's critics and political opponents.<ref name="wapo-dog"/><ref name="bg-seamus">Template:Cite news</ref>

Private equity

In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found and lead the spin-off private equity investment firm Bain Capital.<ref name="atl-pappu">Template:Cite news</ref> He initially refrained from accepting Bill Bain's offer to head the new venture until Bain rearranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there was no financial or professional risk to Romney.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="howmakemoney" /><ref name="nyt060407db" /> Bain and Romney raised the $37 million needed to start the new operation, which had seven employees.<ref name="MrPowerPoint" /><ref name="blum" /> Romney held the titles of president<ref name="bg-leave1">Template:Cite news</ref> and managing general partner.<ref name="bg-leave1b">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-leave1" /> Though he was the sole shareholder of the firm, publications also called him managing director or CEO.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Romney, Turnaround, pp. 15–16.</ref>

Initially, Bain Capital focused on venture capital investments. Romney set up a system in which any partner could veto one of these potential opportunities, and he personally saw so many weaknesses that few venture capital investments were approved in the initial two years.<ref name="bgseries3" /> The firm's first significant success was a 1986 investment to help start Staples Inc., after founder Thomas G. Stemberg convinced Romney of the market size for office supplies and Romney convinced others; Bain Capital eventually reaped a nearly sevenfold return on its investment, and Romney sat on Staples's board of directors for over a decade.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="blum" /><ref name="nym-onep">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney soon switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts: buying existing companies with money mostly borrowed from banking institutions using the newly bought companies' assets as collateral, taking steps to improve the companies' value, and then selling those companies when their value peaked, usually within a few years.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="howmakemoney" /> Bain Capital lost money in many of its early leveraged buyouts, but then found deals that made large returns.<ref name="bgseries3" /> The firm invested in or acquired Accuride Corporation, Brookstone, Domino's Pizza, Sealy Corporation, Sports Authority, and Artisan Entertainment, as well as some lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="howmakemoney" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Much of the firm's profit was earned from a relatively small number of deals; Bain Capital's overall success-to-failure ratio was about even.<ref group="nb">One study of 68 deals that Bain Capital made during Romney's time there found that the firm lost money or broke even on 33 of them.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /> Another study that looked at the eight-year period following 77 deals during Romney's time found that in 17 cases the company went bankrupt or out of business, and in 6 cases Bain Capital lost all its investment. But 10 deals were very successful and represented 70 percent of the total profits.<ref name="wsj-bc">Template:Cite news</ref> </ref>

Romney discovered few investment opportunities himself (and those that he did often failed to make money for the firm).<ref name="real-155" /> Instead, he focused on analyzing the merits of possible deals that others brought forward and on recruiting investors to participate in them once approved.<ref name="real-155">Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 141, 155.</ref> At Bain Capital, Romney spread profits from deals widely within the firm to keep people motivated, often keeping less than 10% for himself.<ref name="nyt-depagr" /> Data-driven, he often played the role of a devil's advocate during exhaustive analysis of whether to go forward with a deal.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nym-onep" /> He wanted to drop a Bain Capital hedge fund that initially lost money, but other partners disagreed with him and it eventually made billions.<ref name="bgseries3" /> He opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from a studio that produced R-rated films.<ref name="bgseries3" /> Romney served on the board of directors of Damon Corporation, a medical testing company later found guilty of defrauding the government; Bain Capital tripled its investment before selling off the company, and the fraud was discovered by the new owners (Romney was never implicated).<ref name="bgseries3" /> In some cases, Romney had little involvement with a company once Bain Capital acquired it.<ref name="blum" />

Bain Capital's leveraged buyouts sometimes led to layoffs, either soon after acquisition or later after the firm had concluded its role.<ref name="nykr2007" /><ref name="nyt060407db">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="blum">Template:Cite news</ref> Exactly how many jobs Bain Capital added compared to those lost because of these investments and buyouts is unknown, owing to a lack of records and Bain Capital's penchant for privacy for itself and its investors.<ref name="nyt-dade">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Maximizing the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, not job creation, was the firm's primary investment goal.<ref name="blum" /><ref name="bg-bc-jobs">Template:Cite news</ref> Bain Capital's acquisition of Ampad exemplified a deal where it profited handsomely from early payments and management fees, even though the subject company itself later went into bankruptcy.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nym-onep" /><ref name="bg-bc-jobs" /> Dade Behring was another case where Bain Capital received an eightfold return on its investment but the company itself was saddled with debt and laid off over a thousand employees before Bain Capital exited (the company subsequently went into bankruptcy, with more layoffs, before recovering and prospering).<ref name="nyt-dade" /> Referring to the layoffs that sometimes occurred, Romney said in 2007: "Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient. My job was to try and make the enterprise successful, and in my view the best security a family can have is that the business they work for is strong."<ref name="nyt060407db" />

In 1990, facing financial collapse, Bain & Company asked Romney to return.<ref name="atl-pappu" /> Announced as its new CEO in January 1991,<ref name="bg-leave1b" /><ref name="nyt-leave1">Template:Cite news</ref> he drew a symbolic salary of one dollar<ref name="atl-pappu" /> (remaining managing general partner of Bain Capital during this time).<ref name="bg-leave1b" /><ref name="nyt-leave1" /> He oversaw an effort to restructure Bain & Company's employee stock-ownership plan and real-estate deals, while rallying the firm's 1,000 employees, imposing a new governing structure that excluded Bain and the other founding partners from control, and increasing fiscal transparency.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="MrPowerPoint" /><ref name="atl-pappu" /> He got Bain and other initial owners who had removed excessive amounts of money from the firm to return substantial amounts, and persuaded creditors, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to accept less than full payment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Within about a year, he led Bain & Company to a return to profitability.<ref name="MrPowerPoint">Template:Cite news</ref> He then turned it over to new leadership and returned to Bain Capital in December 1992.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="ap022407">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House, p. 51.</ref>

Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital from November 1993 to November 1994 to run for U.S. Senate.<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During that time, Ampad workers went on strike and asked Romney to intervene. Against the advice of Bain Capital lawyers, Romney met the strikers, but told them he had no position of active authority in the matter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

By 1999, Bain Capital was on its way to becoming one of the foremost private equity firms in the nation,<ref name="nyt060407db" /> having increased its number of partners from 5 to 18, with 115 employees and $4 billion under management.<ref name="howmakemoney" /><ref name="blum" /> The firm's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113%<ref name="MrPowerPoint" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and its average yearly return to investors was around 50–80%.<ref name="wsj-bc"/>

Starting in February 1999, Romney took a paid leave of absence from Bain Capital in order to serve as the president and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee.<ref name="bg-reins">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg-paid">Template:Cite news</ref> Billed in some public statements as keeping a part-time role,<ref name="bg-reins" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney remained the firm's sole shareholder, managing director, CEO, and president, signing corporate and legal documents, attending to his interests within the firm, and conducting prolonged negotiations for the terms of his departure.<ref name="bg-reins" /><ref name="ap-exit">Template:Cite news</ref> He did not involve himself in the firm's day-to-day operations or the investment decisions of its new private equity funds.<ref name="bg-reins" /><ref name="ap-exit" /> He retained his position on several boards of directors during this time and regularly returned to Massachusetts to attend meetings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In August 2001, Romney announced that he would not return to Bain Capital.<ref name="dn082001" /> His separation from the firm concluded in early 2002;<ref name="bg-reins" /> he transferred his ownership to other partners and negotiated an agreement that allowed him to receive a share of the profits as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds.<ref name="personalworth">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-depagr">Template:Cite news</ref> The private equity business continued to thrive, earning him millions of dollars in annual income.<ref name="nyt-depagr" />

1994 United States Senate campaign in Massachusetts

Campaigning for U.S. Senate in Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1994

For much of his business career, Romney did not take public political stances.<ref name="hersh-139">Hersh, The Shadow President, p. 139.</ref><ref>Canellos, The Last Lion, p. 295.</ref> He had kept abreast of national politics since college,<ref name="nyt-searching" /> and the circumstances of his father's presidential campaign loss had irked him for decades.<ref name="ap-2007-prof" /> He registered as an Independent<ref name="bgseries4" /> and voted in the 1992 presidential primaries for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas.<ref name="hersh-139" /><ref name="slate-ceo">Template:Cite news</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. senator 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 trial in Florida, in which Kennedy's reputation had suffered.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney changed his affiliation to 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" />

Radio personality Janet Jeghelian took an early lead in polls among candidates for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat, but Romney proved the most effective fundraiser.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Hersh, The Shadow President, pp. 124, 126–127.</ref> He won 68% of the vote at the May 1994 Massachusetts Republican Party convention; businessman John Lakian finished a distant second, eliminating Jeghelian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney defeated Lakian in the September 1994 primary with more than 80% of the vote.<ref name="crim102194" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious reelection challenge of his career.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /> The younger, telegenic, and well-funded Romney ran as a businessman who said he had created 10,000 jobs and as a Washington outsider with a solid family image and moderate stances on social issues.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Clymer, Edward M. Kennedy, p. 549.</ref> When Kennedy tried to tie Romney's policies to those of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Romney responded, "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to take us back to Reagan-Bush."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney said, "Ultimately, this is a campaign about change."<ref>Clymer, Edward M. Kennedy, p. 553.</ref>

Romney's campaign was effective in portraying Kennedy as soft on crime but had trouble establishing its own consistent positions.<ref>Hersh, The Shadow President, pp. 128–129, 139.</ref> By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race about even.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref name="NYT1994-bank-family">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kennedy responded with a series of ads that focused on Romney's seemingly shifting political views on issues such as abortion;<ref>Hersh, The Shadow President, pp. 141–142.</ref> Romney responded, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country."<ref name="cbs-a-views">Template:Cite news</ref> Other Kennedy ads centered on layoffs of workers at the Ampad plant owned by Bain Capital.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The latter was effective in blunting Romney's momentum.<ref name="nym-onep" /> Kennedy and Romney held a widely watched late October debate that had no clear winner, but by then, Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and remained so.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney spent $3 million of his own money on the race and more than $7 million overall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref group="nb">Kennedy spent $10.5 million overall, including a $1.5 million loan to himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was the second-most expensive race of the 1994 election cycle, after the Dianne Feinstein–Michael Huffington Senate race in California.</ref> Despite a disastrous showing for Democrats nationwide, Kennedy won the election with 58% of the vote to Romney's 41%,<ref name="bgseries3" /> the smallest margin in any of Kennedy's reelection campaigns for the Senate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The day after the election, Romney returned to Bain Capital, but the loss had a lasting effect; he told his brother, "I never want to run for something again unless I can win."<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" />

After election

When his father died in 1995, Mitt donated his inheritance to BYU's George W. Romney Institute of Public Management.<ref name="lamb20060319">Template:Cite interview</ref> He also became vice-chair of the board of the Points of Light Foundation,<ref name="dn082001">Template:Cite news</ref> which had embraced his father's National Volunteer Center. Romney felt restless as the decade neared a close; making more money held little attraction for him.<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref name="nyt-olympics-edge">Template:Cite news</ref> Although no longer in a local leadership position in his church, he still taught Sunday School.<ref name="wapo-belmont" /> During the long and controversial approval and construction process for the $30-million Mormon temple in Belmont, he feared that, as a political figure who had opposed Kennedy, he would become a focal point for opposition to the structure.<ref name="nyt-bishop" /> He thus kept to a limited, behind-the-scenes role in attempts to ease tensions between the church and local residents.<ref name="wapo-belmont" /><ref name="nyt-bishop" /><ref name="wbur-belmont" />

2002 Winter Olympics

Romney with Orrin Hatch at a press conference on Olympic security in October 2001

In 1998, Ann Romney learned that she had multiple sclerosis; Mitt described watching her fail a series of neurological tests as the worst day of his life.<ref name="bgseries4" /> After experiencing two years of severe difficulties with the disease, she found – while living in Park City, Utah, where the couple had built a vacation home – a combination of mainstream, alternative, and equestrian therapies that enabled her to lead a lifestyle mostly without limitations.<ref name="saddle">Template:Cite news</ref> When her husband received a job offer to take over the troubled organization responsible for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Salt Lake City in Utah, she urged him to accept it; eager for a new challenge, as well as another chance to prove himself in public life, he did.<ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" /><ref name="nyt-olympics-man" /><ref name="bgseries5" /> On February 11, 1999, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 hired Romney as its president and CEO.<ref name="Fire Within">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney, as president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, speaking before a curling match

Before Romney took over, the event was $379 million short of its revenue goals.<ref name="Fire Within" /> Officials had made plans to scale back the Games to compensate for the fiscal crisis, and there were fears it might be moved away entirely.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the Games' image had been damaged by allegations of bribery against top officials including prior committee president and CEO Frank Joklik. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee forced Joklik and committee vice president Dave Johnson to resign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Utah power brokers, including Governor Mike Leavitt, searched for someone with a scandal-free reputation to take charge of the Olympics. They chose Romney based on his business and legal expertise as well as his connections to both the LDS Church and the state.<ref name="bgseries5" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The appointment faced some initial criticism from both non-Mormons and Mormons that it represented cronyism and made the Games seem too Mormon-dominated.<ref name="nykr2002">Template:Cite news</ref> Romney donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO, and also donated $1 million to the Olympics.<ref name="bg-olympic-ties">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney restructured the organization's leadership and policies. He reduced budgets and boosted fundraising, alleviating corporate sponsors' concerns while recruiting new ones.<ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" /><ref name="bgseries5" /> Romney worked to ensure the Games's safety after the September 11 attacks by coordinating a $300 million security budget.<ref name="nyt-olympics-man">Template:Cite news</ref> He oversaw a $1.32 billion budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers.<ref name="Fire Within" /> The federal government provided approximately $400 million<ref name="bgseries5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="karloly" /> to $600 million<ref name="dobhuntOly">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="heldoly">Template:Cite news</ref> of that budget, much of it a result of Romney's having aggressively lobbied Congress and federal agencies.<ref name="heldoly" /><ref name="isikoly">Template:Cite news</ref> It was a record level of federal funding for the staging of a U.S. Olympics.<ref name="karloly">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="isikoly" /> An additional $1.1 billion of indirect federal funding came to the state in the form of highway and transit projects.<ref name="ap-hunt">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney emerged as the local public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in photographs, in news stories, on collectible Olympics pins depicting him wrapped by an American flag, and on buttons carrying phrases like "Hey, Mitt, we love you!"<ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" /><ref name="bgseries5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Organizing committee chair Robert H. Garff later said, "It was obvious that he had an agenda larger than just the Olympics",<ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" /> and that Romney wanted to use the Olympics to propel himself into the national spotlight and a political career.<ref name="bgseries5" /><ref name="wapo021212" /> Garff believed the initial budget situation was not as bad as Romney portrayed, given there were still three years to reorganize.<ref name="bgseries5" /> Utah senator Bob Bennett said that much of the needed federal money was already in place.<ref name="bgseries5" /> A Boston Globe analysis later found that the committee had nearly $1 billion in committed revenues at that time.<ref name="bgseries5" /> Olympics critic Steve Pace, who led Utahns for Responsible Public Spending, thought Romney exaggerated the initial fiscal state to lay the groundwork for a well-publicized rescue.<ref name="wapo021212">Template:Cite news</ref> Kenneth Bullock, another board member of the organizing committee and also head of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, often clashed with Romney at the time, and later said that Romney deserved some credit for the turnaround but not as much as he claimed.<ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" /> Bullock said: "He tried very hard to build an image of himself as a savior, the great white hope. He was very good at characterizing and castigating people and putting himself on a pedestal."<ref name="bgseries5" />

Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up with a surplus of $100 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> President George W. Bush praised Romney's efforts and 87% of Utahns approved of his performance as Olympics head.<ref name="fortune-2007" /><ref name="aap04-772">Barone and Cohen, The Almanac of American Politics 2004, p. 772.</ref> It solidified his reputation as a "turnaround artist",<ref name="bgseries5">Template:Cite news Also available from HighBeam. Also available as Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Harvard Business School taught a case study based around his actions.<ref name="nykr2007">Template:Cite news</ref> U.S. Olympic Committee head William Hybl credited Romney with an extraordinary effort in overcoming a difficult time for the Olympics, culminating in "the greatest Winter Games I have ever seen".<ref name="bgseries5" /> Romney wrote a book about his experience, Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, published in 2004. The role gave him experience in dealing with federal, state, and local entities, a public persona he had previously lacked, and the chance to relaunch his political aspirations.<ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" />

2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign

Romney with President George W. Bush in 2002

In 2002, plagued by political missteps and personal scandals, the administration of Republican acting governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift appeared vulnerable, and many Republicans viewed her as unable to win a general election.<ref name="aap04-772" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prominent party figures – as well as the White House – wanted Romney to run for governor<ref name="dn022202">Berwick Jr., Bob; Roche, Lisa Riley. "Boston GOP beseeching Mitt: But hero of S.L. Games is coy about his future" Template:Webarchive Deseret News (Salt Lake City), February 22, 2002. </ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the opportunity appealed to him for reasons including its national visibility.<ref>Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 224–225.</ref> A Boston Herald poll showed Republicans favoring Romney over Swift by more than 50 percentage points.<ref name="cnn031902">Template:Cite news</ref> On March 19, 2002, Swift announced she would not seek her party's nomination, and hours later Romney declared his candidacy,<ref name="cnn031902" /> for which he would face no opposition in the primary.<ref name="pbs-race" /> In June 2002, the Massachusetts Democratic Party challenged Romney's eligibility to run for governor, noting that state law required seven years' consecutive residence and that Romney had filed his state tax returns as a Utah resident in 1999 and 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-challenge">Template:Cite news</ref> In response, the bipartisan Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission unanimously ruled that he had maintained sufficient financial and personal ties to Massachusetts to be an eligible candidate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney again ran as a political outsider.<ref name="aap04-772" /> He played down his party affiliation,<ref name="bgseries6" /> saying he was "not a partisan Republican" but rather a "moderate" with "progressive" views.<ref>Template:Cite news See "Romney in 2002: I'm "Moderate," "Progressive," and "Not a Partisan Republican" Template:Webarchive" for video.</ref> He said he would observe a moratorium on changes to the state's laws on abortion, but reiterated that he would "preserve and protect a woman's right to choose" and that his position was "unequivocal".<ref name="cbs-a-views"/><ref name="bgseries7" /> He touted his private sector experience as qualifying him for addressing the state's fiscal problems<ref name="pbs-race">Template:Cite web</ref> and stressed his ability to obtain federal funds for the state, offering his Olympics record as evidence.<ref name="karloly" /><ref name="isikoly" /> He proposed to reorganize the state government while eliminating waste, fraud, and mismanagement.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="baylesgolden" /> The campaign innovatively utilized microtargeting techniques, identifying like-minded groups of voters and reaching them with narrowly tailored messaging.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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">Template:Cite news Also available with photo as "Mitt takes his shirt off as campaign heats up" Template:Webarchive, 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, Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, leading in the polls as late as mid-October.<ref name="baylesgolden">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="MigaFuzzy">Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite news</ref>

During the election, Romney contributed more than $6 million – a state record at the time – to the nearly $10 million raised for his campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On November 5, 2002, he won the election with 50% of the vote to O'Brien's 45%.<ref>Barone and Cohen, Almanac of American Politics 2004, p. 773.</ref>

Governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007)

Romney announcing a Save America's Treasures Historic Preservation grant for the Old North Church in Boston, 2003

Romney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He faced a Massachusetts state legislature with large Democratic majorities in both houses, and had picked his cabinet and advisors based more on managerial abilities than partisan affiliation.<ref name="aap08-789">Barone and Cohen, Almanac of American Politics 2008, p. 789.</ref><ref name="tnr-cohn">Template:Cite news</ref> He declined a governor's salary of $135,000 during his term.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon entering office in the middle of a fiscal year, he faced an immediate $650 million shortfall and a projected $3 billion deficit for the next year.<ref name="bgseries6" /> Unexpected revenue of $1.0–1.3 billion from a previously enacted capital gains tax increase and $500 million in new federal grants decreased the deficit to $1.2–1.5 billion.<ref name="Telegram" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes,<ref name="Telegram">Template:Cite news</ref> the state achieved surpluses of around $600–700 million during Romney's last two full fiscal years in office, although it began running deficits again after that.<ref group="nb">Official state figures for fiscal year 2005 (July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005) declared a $594.4 million surplus.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="gov-mass" /> For fiscal 2006, the surplus was $720.9 million.<ref name="gov-mass">Template:Cite web</ref> During fiscal 2007, Romney cut $384 million in spending that the legislature wanted; in January 2007, midway through the fiscal year, incoming Governor Deval Patrick restored that amount,<ref name="bg010707">Template:Cite news</ref> and also declared that the state faced a "looming budget shortfall" of $1 billion for fiscal 2008.<ref name="ap-deficit">Template:Cite news</ref> Patrick consequently proposed a budget for fiscal 2008 that included $515 million in spending cuts and $295 million in new corporate taxes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As it happened, the state ended fiscal 2007 with a $307.1 million deficit and fiscal 2008 with a $495.2 million deficit.<ref name="gov-mass" /></ref>

Massachusetts State House portrait by Richard Whitney

Romney supported raising various fees, including those for drivers' licenses and gun licenses, to raise more than $300 million.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="Telegram" /> He increased a special gasoline retailer fee by Template:Convert, generating about $60 million per year in additional revenue.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="Telegram" /> Opponents said the reliance on fees sometimes imposed a hardship on those who could least afford them.<ref name="Telegram" /> Romney also closed tax loopholes that brought in another $181 million from businesses over the next two years and over $300 million for his term.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="NYT-2011-10-01-Barbaro">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg013105" /> He did so in the face of conservative and corporate critics who viewed these actions as tax increases.<ref name="NYT-2011-10-01-Barbaro" /><ref name="bg013105">Template:Cite news</ref>

The state legislature, with the governor's support, cut spending by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase fees by 63% over four years.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="Telegram" /> Romney sought additional cuts in his last year as governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget; the legislature overrode all the vetoes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The cuts in state spending put added pressure on localities to reduce services or raise property taxes, and the share of town and city revenues coming from property taxes rose from 49% to 53%.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="Telegram" /> The combined state and local tax burden in Massachusetts increased during Romney's governorship.<ref name="bgseries6">Template:Cite news Also available in HighBeam. Also available as "Romney took on 'outsider' role at helm of Bay State" Template:Webarchive, Deseret Morning News, July 6, 2007.</ref> He did propose a reduction in the state income tax rate, but the legislature rejected it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney sought to bring near-universal health insurance coverage to the state. This came after Staples founder Tom Stemberg told him at the start of his term that doing so would be the best way he could help people.<ref name="bg-hc-1" /> Another factor was that the federal government, owing to the rules of Medicaid funding, threatened to cut $385 million in those payments to Massachusetts if the state did not reduce the number of uninsured recipients of health care services.<ref name="bgseries7" /><ref name="nyt040606" /> Although the idea of universal health insurance had not come to the fore during the campaign, Romney decided that because people without insurance still received expensive health care, the money spent by the state for such care could be better used to subsidize insurance for the poor.<ref name="bg-hc-1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Governor Romney received a tour of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy on May 20, 2005, as part of celebrating Armed Forces Day.

Determined that a new Massachusetts health insurance measure not raise taxes or resemble the previous decade's failed "Hillarycare" proposal at the federal level, Romney formed a team of consultants from diverse political backgrounds to apply those principles. Beginning in late 2004, they devised a set of proposals that were more ambitious than an incremental one from the Massachusetts Senate and more acceptable to him than one from the Massachusetts House of Representatives that incorporated a new payroll tax.<ref name="bgseries7" /><ref name="tnr-cohn" /><ref name="nyt040606" /> In particular, Romney pushed for incorporating an individual mandate at the state level.<ref name="time-prof-2007">Template:Cite news</ref> Past rival Ted Kennedy, who had made universal health coverage his life's work and who, over time, had developed a warm relationship with Romney,<ref>Canellos, The Last Lion, p. 300.</ref> gave the plan a positive reception, which encouraged Democratic legislators to cooperate.<ref name="bgseries7" /><ref name="nyt040606" /> The effort eventually gained the support of all major stakeholders within the state, and Romney helped break a logjam between rival Democratic leaders in the legislature.<ref name="bgseries7" /><ref name="nyt040606" />

On April 12, 2006, Romney signed the resulting Massachusetts health reform law, commonly called "Romneycare", which requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to buy health insurance coverage or face escalating tax penalties, such as the loss of their personal income tax exemption.<ref name="bg-signs">Template:Cite news</ref> The bill also established means-tested state subsidies for people who lacked adequate employer insurance and whose income was below a threshold, using funds that had covered the health costs of the uninsured.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He vetoed eight sections of the health care legislation, including a controversial $295-per-employee assessment on businesses that do not offer health insurance and provisions guaranteeing dental benefits to Medicaid recipients.<ref name="bg-signs" /><ref name="ap-overrides" /> The legislature overrode all eight vetoes, but the governor's office said the differences were not essential.<ref name="ap-overrides">Template:Cite news</ref> The law was the first of its kind in the nation and became the signature achievement of Romney's term in office.<ref name="bgseries7">Template:Cite news Also available in HighBeam.</ref>Template:Refn

Romney's official gubernatorial portrait, 2005

At the beginning of his governorship, Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions but advocated tolerance and supported some domestic partnership benefits.<ref name="bgseries7" /><ref name="lat-sht">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, required the state to recognize same-sex marriages.<ref name="bg-civu" /> Romney reluctantly backed a state constitutional amendment in February 2004 that would have banned those marriages but still allowed civil unions, viewing it as the only feasible way to comply with the court's ruling.<ref name="bg-civu">Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2004 and per the court decision, he instructed town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But citing a 1913 law that barred out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would be illegal in their home state, he said no marriage licenses were to be issued to people not planning to move to Massachusetts.<ref name="lat-sht" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2005, Romney abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, stating that it confused voters who opposed both same-sex marriage and civil unions.<ref name="lat-sht" /> Instead, he endorsed a ballot initiative led by the Coalition for Marriage and Family (an alliance of socially conservative organizations) that would have banned same-sex marriage and made no provisions for civil unions.<ref name="lat-sht" /> In 2004 and 2006, he urged the U.S. Senate to vote for the Federal Marriage Amendment.<ref>Template:Cite speech</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2005, Romney revealed a change of view regarding abortion, moving from the abortion rights positions expressed during his 1994 and 2002 campaigns to an anti-abortion one in opposition to Roe v. Wade.<ref name="bgseries7" /> He attributed his conversion to an interaction with Harvard University biologist Douglas Melton, an expert on embryonic stem cell biology, although Melton vehemently disputed Romney's recollection of their conversation.<ref name="draper-nyt">Template:Cite news</ref> Romney subsequently vetoed a bill on pro-life grounds that expanded access to emergency contraception in hospitals and pharmacies; the legislature overrode the veto.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also amended his position on embryonic stem cell research.<ref name="nb-stem" group="nb" />

Mitt and Ann Romney at the White House Correspondents Dinner, 2005

Romney used a bully pulpit approach towards promoting his agenda, staging well-organized media events to appeal directly to the public rather than pushing his proposals in behind-doors sessions with the state legislature.<ref name="bgseries7" /> He dealt with a public crisis of confidence in Boston's Big Dig project after a fatal ceiling collapse in 2006 by wresting control of the project from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.<ref name="bgseries7" /> After two years of negotiating the state's participation in the landmark Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that instituted a cap-and-trade arrangement for power plant emissions in the Northeast, Romney pulled Massachusetts out of the initiative shortly before its signing in December 2005, citing a lack of cost limits for industry.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2004, Romney spent considerable effort trying to bolster the state Republican Party, but it failed to gain any seats in the legislative elections that year.<ref name="bgseries6" /><ref name="aap06-809">Barone and Cohen, The Almanac of American Politics 2006, p. 809.</ref> Given a prime-time appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention, he began to be discussed as a potential 2008 presidential candidate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Midway through his term, Romney decided that he wanted to stage a full-time run for president,<ref name="battle-238">Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, p. 238.</ref> and on December 14, 2005, he announced that he would not seek reelection as governor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As chair of the Republican Governors Association, Romney traveled around the country, meeting prominent Republicans and building a national political network;<ref name="battle-238" /> he spent more than 200 days out of state in 2006, preparing for his run.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney had a 61 percent job approval rating after his initial fiscal actions in 2003, but it subsequently declined,<ref name="mason-polls">Template:Cite news</ref> driven in part by his frequent out-of-state travel.<ref name="mason-polls" /><ref name="aap08-790">Barone and Cohen, Almanac of American Politics 2008, p. 790.</ref> It stood at 34 percent in November 2006, ranking 48th of the 50 U.S. governors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, Democratic nominee Deval Patrick beat Romney's lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey, by 20 points, with the win partially due to dissatisfaction with Romney's administration and the weak condition of the state Republican party.<ref name="aap08-790" /><ref name="healeypoll">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney filed to register a presidential campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on his penultimate day in office as governor. His term ended on January 4, 2007.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2008 presidential campaign

Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president on February 13, 2007, in Dearborn, Michigan.<ref name="bg-ann">Template:Cite news</ref> Again casting himself as a political outsider,<ref name="battle-239">Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, p. 239.</ref> his speech frequently invoked his father and his family, and stressed experiences in the private, public, and voluntary sectors that had brought him to this point.<ref name="bg-ann" /><ref name="dn-ann">Template:Cite news</ref>

Holding an "Ask Mitt Anything" session in Ames, Iowa, in May 2007

The campaign emphasized Romney's highly profitable career in the business world and his stewardship of the 2002 Olympics.<ref name="battle-238" /><ref name="gc-293" /><ref group="nb">American political opinion periodically looked towards industry for business managers who it was thought could straighten out what was held to be wrong in the nation's capital. The track record of such efforts was at best mixed, with Lee Iacocca declining to run, Romney's father George and Steve Forbes failing to get far in the primaries, and Ross Perot staging one of the more successful third-party runs in American history.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref></ref> He also had political experience as a governor, together with a political pedigree courtesy of his father (as well as many biographical parallels with him).<ref group="nb">Biographical parallels between George and Mitt Romney include: Both served as Mormon missionaries in Europe and considered the experiences formative. Both pursued high school sweethearts single-mindedly until the women agreed to marry them several years later, then had families with four or five children. Both had very successful careers in business and became known for turning around failing companies or organizations. Both presided over a stake in the LDS Church. Both achieved their first elected position at age 55, as Republican governor of a Democratic-leaning state. The two bear a close physical resemblance at similar ages and both have been said to "look like a president". Both staged their first presidential run in the year they turned 60. Both were considered suspect by ideological conservatives within the Republican Party.<ref name="time-prof-2007" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Neither protested publicly against the LDS Church policy that did not allow black people in its lay clergy, although the elder Romney hoped the church leadership would revise the policy,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and his son has said that he was greatly relieved when the church did so in 1978.<ref name="nyt-searching" /><ref name=Horowitz /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There are also obvious differences in their paths, including that George had a hardscrabble upbringing while Mitt's was affluent, and that Mitt far exceeded George's accomplishments in formal education. Another is that Mitt's personality is more reserved, private, and controlled than his father's was, traits he got from his mother Lenore,<ref name="nyt-lessons">Template:Cite news</ref> and his political personality is also shaped at least as much by Lenore as by George.<ref name="time-dreams" /> And while George was willing to defy political trends, Mitt has been much more willing to adapt to them.<ref name="time-prof-2007" /><ref name="time-dreams" /><ref name="tnr-cohn" /></ref> Ann Romney, who had become an advocate for those with multiple sclerosis,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> was in remission and was an active participant in his campaign,<ref name="lat112407">Template:Cite news</ref> helping to soften his political personality.<ref name="GQ-draper" /> Media stories called the Template:Convert Romney handsome;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a number of commentators noted that with his square jaw and ample hair graying at the temples, he matched a common image of what a president should look like.<ref name="atl-pappu" /><ref name="econ-prof-2007">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney's liabilities included having run for senator and serving as governor in one of the nation's most liberal states and having taken positions in opposition to the party's conservative base during that time.<ref name="battle-238" /><ref name="gc-293" /><ref name="lat112407" /> Late during his term as governor, he had shifted positions and emphases to better align with traditional conservatives on social issues.<ref name="battle-238" /><ref name="gc-293" /><ref name="lat112407" /> Skeptics, including some Republicans, charged Romney with opportunism and a lack of core principles.<ref name="slate-ceo" /><ref name="bgseries7" /><ref name="gc-295" /> As a Mormon, he faced suspicion and skepticism by some in the Evangelical wing of the party.<ref name="gc-295">Heilemann and Halperin, Game Change, pp. 294–295.</ref>

For his campaign, Romney assembled a veteran group of Republican staffers, consultants, and pollsters.<ref name="gc-293">Heilemann and Halperin, Game Change, pp. 293–294.</ref><ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, pp. 251–252.</ref> But he was little-known nationally, and hovered around 10% support in Republican preference polls for the first half of 2007.<ref name="battle-238" /> He proved the most effective fundraiser of any of the Republican candidates and also partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune.<ref name="gc-293" /><ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, p. 247.</ref> These resources, combined with the mid-year near-collapse of nominal front-runner John McCain's campaign, made Romney a threat to win the nomination and the focus of the other candidates' attacks.<ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, pp. 261–263.</ref> Romney's staff suffered from internal strife; Romney himself was at times indecisive, often asking for more data before making a decision.<ref name="gc-293" /><ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, p. 276.</ref>

During all his political campaigns, Romney has avoided speaking publicly about Mormon doctrines, referring to the U.S. Constitution's prohibition of religious tests for public office.<ref name="speech">Template:Cite news</ref> But persistent questions about the role of religion in his life, as well as Southern Baptist minister and former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee's rise in the polls based on an explicitly Christian-themed campaign, led to Romney's December 6, 2007, "Faith in America" speech.<ref name="fox120607" /> In it, Romney declared, "I believe in my Mormon faith and endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers. I will be true to them and to my beliefs."<ref name="FaithRise" /> He added that he should be neither elected nor rejected because of his religion,<ref name="msn120607">Template:Cite news</ref> and echoed Senator John F. Kennedy's famous speech during his 1960 presidential campaign in saying, "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law."<ref name="fox120607">Template:Cite news</ref> Instead of discussing the specific tenets of his faith, he said he would be informed by it, saying: "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."<ref name="fox120607" /><ref name="msn120607" /> Academics later studied the role religion played in the campaign.<ref group="nb">Regarding the role of Romney's religion in the 2008 campaign, one academic study, based upon research conducted throughout the 2008 primaries, showed that a negative perception of Mormonism was widespread during the election, and that perception was often resistant to factual information that would correct mistaken notions about the religion or Romney's relationship to it.<ref name="campbell-green-monson">Template:Cite conference</ref> The authors concluded that, "For Romney ... religion is the central story."<ref name="campbell-green-monson" /> Another study, analyzing a survey conducted during January 2008 (when an African American, a woman, and a Mormon all had realistic chances of becoming the first president from that group), found that voters had internally accepted the notion of black equality, paving the way for Barack Obama's election; had partially established but not fully internalized the notion of gender equality, making Hillary Clinton's task somewhat more difficult; but had only selectively internalized the notion of religious equality, and in particular not extended it to Mormons, thus making Romney's run significantly more difficult.<ref name="monson-riding">Template:Cite conference</ref> Those authors concluded that, "for a Mormon candidate, the road to the presidency remains very rough ... The bias against a Mormon candidate is substantial."<ref name="monson-riding" /> </ref>

Romney and supporters campaigning in New Hampshire, September 2007

The campaign's strategy called for winning the initial two contests – the January 3, 2008, Iowa Republican caucuses and the January 8 New Hampshire primary – to propel Romney nationally.<ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, p. 251.</ref> But he took second place in both, losing Iowa to Huckabee, who received more than twice the evangelical Christian votes,<ref name="battle-280">Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, pp. 280–281.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and New Hampshire to the resurgent McCain.<ref name="battle-280" /> Huckabee and McCain criticized Romney's image as a flip-flopper<ref name="battle-280" /> and this label stuck to Romney through the campaign<ref name="gc-293" /> (one that Romney rejected as unfair and inaccurate, except for his acknowledged change of mind on abortion).<ref name="GQ-draper">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg-mag" /> Romney seemed to approach the campaign as a management consulting exercise, and showed a lack of personal warmth and political feel; journalist Evan Thomas wrote that Romney "came off as a phony, even when he was perfectly sincere".<ref name="GQ-draper" /><ref>Thomas, "A Long Time Coming", p. 45.</ref> The fervor with which Romney adopted his new stances and attitudes contributed to the perception of inauthenticity that hampered the campaign.<ref name="nykr2007" /><ref name="nyt030511" /> His staff concluded that competing as a candidate of social conservatism and ideological purity rather than of pragmatic competence had been a mistake.<ref name="GQ-draper" />

McCain's win in South Carolina and Romney's in his childhood home Michigan set up a pivotal battle in the January 29 Florida primary.<ref name="battle-284">Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, pp. 283–285.</ref><ref name="gc-313">Heilemann and Halperin, Game Change, pp. 312–313.</ref> Romney campaigned intensively on economic issues and the burgeoning subprime mortgage crisis, while McCain attacked Romney on Iraq policy and benefited from endorsements from Florida officeholders.<ref name="battle-284" /><ref name="gc-313" /> McCain won by five points.<ref name="battle-284" /><ref name="gc-313" /> Although many Republican officials were now lining up behind McCain,<ref name="gc-313" /> Romney persisted through the nationwide Super Tuesday contests on February 5. There he won primaries or caucuses in several states, but McCain won in more and in larger-population ones.<ref name="cnn020708">Template:Cite news</ref> Trailing McCain in delegates by a more than two-to-one margin, Romney announced the end of his campaign on February 7.<ref name="cnn020708" />

Altogether, Romney had won 11 primaries and caucuses,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> receiving about 4.7 million votes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and garnering about 280 delegates.<ref name="AP-Sidoti-2008-02-14"/> He spent $110 million during the campaign, including $45 million of his own money.<ref name="bg071708">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney endorsed McCain for president a week later,<ref name="AP-Sidoti-2008-02-14"> Template:Cite news</ref> and McCain had Romney on a short list for running mate, where his business experience would have balanced one of McCain's weaknesses.<ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, pp. 328, 331.</ref> Behind in the polls, McCain opted instead for a high-risk, high-reward "game changer", Alaska governor Sarah Palin.<ref>Balz and Johnson, The Battle for America 2008, pp. 334–335.</ref> McCain lost the election to Democratic senator Barack Obama.

Activity between presidential campaigns

Romney supported the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program in response to the 2008 financial crisis, later saying that it prevented the U.S. financial system from collapsing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the U.S. automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010, he opposed a bailout of the industry in the form of direct government intervention, and argued that a managed bankruptcy of struggling automobile companies should instead be accompanied by federal guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing from the private sector.<ref>Template:Cite news Note that the title of this op-ed was written by the newspaper; Romney originally submitted it as "The Way Forward for the Auto Industry". See May 8, 2012, New York Times Ashley Parker blog entry "Having Opposed Auto Bailout, Romney Now Takes Credit for Rebound" Template:Webarchive.</ref>

After the 2008 election, Romney laid the groundwork for a 2012 presidential campaign by using his Free and Strong America political action committee (PAC) to raise money for other Republican candidates and pay his existing political staff's salaries and consulting fees.<ref name="bg120808">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A network of former staff and supporters around the nation were eager for him to run again.<ref name="pol062909">Template:Cite news</ref> He continued to give speeches and raise funds for Republicans,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but fearing overexposure, turned down many potential media appearances.<ref name="bg-mag" /> He also spoke before business, educational, and motivational groups.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 2009 to 2011, he served on the board of directors of Marriott International, founded by his namesake J. Willard Marriott.<ref name="ap-mi">Template:Cite news</ref> He had previously served on it from 1993 to 2002.<ref name="ap-mi" /><ref group="nb">During most of Romney's first stint on the Marriott board, he was a member of, and for six years chair of, the board's audit committee.<ref name="bn-mi">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1994, during Romney's time as chair, Marriott implemented the Son of BOSS tax shelter, which resulted in the company claiming $71 million in losses. In 2008 and 2009, federal courts ruled this use of the shelter illegal and said those losses never existed. PolitiFact.com calls a 2012 claim that Romney personally approved the shelter as "Half True".<ref name="bn-mi" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref></ref>

Romney signing copies of his new book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness for service members at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in March 2010

In 2009, the Romneys sold their primary residence in Belmont and their ski chalet in Utah, leaving them an estate along Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and an oceanfront home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, California, which they had bought the year before.<ref name="bg-mag">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="hl050609">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The La Jolla home proved beneficial in location and climate for Ann Romney's multiple sclerosis therapies and for recovering from her late 2008 diagnosis of mammary ductal carcinoma in situ and subsequent lumpectomy.<ref name="hl050609" /><ref name="ap-sd" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Both it and the New Hampshire estate were near some of their grandchildren.<ref name="hl050609" /> Romney maintained his voting registration in Massachusetts, however, and bought a smaller condominium in Belmont during 2010.<ref name="ap-sd">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In February 2010, Romney had a minor altercation with LMFAO member Skyler Gordy, known as Sky Blu, on an airplane flight.<ref group="nb">After having attended the 2010 Winter Olympics, Romney and wife were on board an Air Canada plane waiting to take off on a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles when he got into a physical altercation with Sky Blu, sitting in front of him, over Sky Blu's seat not being in the upright position. Romney said that Sky Blu became physically violent and that he did not retaliate, while Sky Blu said that Romney gave him a "Vulcan grip" first and that he responded physically to that. Sky Blu was escorted off the aircraft by Canadian police but Romney did not press charges and Sky Blu was released.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref></ref>

Romney released his book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, in March 2010, and undertook an 18-state book tour to promote it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the book, he writes of his belief in American exceptionalism,<ref name="time-no-rev" /> and presents his economic and geopolitical views rather than anecdotes about his personal or political life.<ref name="time-no-rev">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It debuted atop The New York Times Best Seller list.<ref name="best">Template:Cite news</ref> Romney donated his earnings from the book to charity.<ref name="bg-discl-2011">Template:Cite news</ref>

Immediately after the March 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power" and said it should be repealed.<ref name="ap032610">Template:Cite news</ref> The antipathy Republicans felt for it created a potential problem for Romney, since the new federal law was in many ways similar to the Massachusetts health care reform passed during his gubernatorial tenure; as one Associated Press article stated, "Obamacare ... looks a lot like Romneycare."<ref name="ap032610" /> While acknowledging that his plan was an imperfect work in progress, Romney did not back away from it. He defended the state-level health insurance mandate that underpinned it, calling the bill the right answer to Massachusetts's problems at the time.<ref name="ap032610" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Romney led or placed in the top three with Palin and Huckabee. A January 2010 National Journal survey of political insiders found that a majority of Republican insiders and a plurality of Democratic insiders predicted Romney would be the party's 2012 nominee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney campaigned heavily for Republican candidates in the 2010 midterm elections,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> raising more money than the other prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Beginning in early 2011, he presented a more relaxed image, including more casual attire.<ref name="nyt030511">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="pol-5chal" />

2012 presidential campaign

Primary election

Mitt Romney sitting outdoors during daytime, with crowd behind him holding up blue and white "Romney" signs

Giving an interview at a supporters rally in Paradise Valley, Arizona

On April 11, 2011, Romney announced, in a video taped outdoors at the University of New Hampshire, that he had formed an exploratory committee for a run for the Republican presidential nomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg-ann-12" /> Quinnipiac University political science professor Scott McLean said, "We all knew that he was going to run. He's really been running for president ever since the day after the 2008 election."<ref name="bg-ann-12">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney stood to benefit from the Republican electorate's tendency to nominate candidates who had previously run for president, and thus appeared to be next in line to be chosen.<ref name="pol062909" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt060211" /> The early stages of the race found him as the apparent front-runner in a weak field, especially in terms of fundraising prowess and organization.<ref name="pol-x">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="pol-newopts" /> Perhaps his greatest hurdle in gaining the Republican nomination was party opposition to the Massachusetts health care reform law that he had shepherded five years earlier.<ref name="pol-5chal">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg-ann-12" /><ref name="nyt060211" /> As many potential Republican candidates with star power and fundraising ability decided not to run (including Mike Pence, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, and Mitch Daniels), Republican party figures searched for plausible alternatives to Romney.<ref name="pol-x" /><ref name="pol-newopts">Template:Cite news</ref>

On June 2, 2011, Romney formally announced the start of his campaign. Speaking on a farm in Stratham, New Hampshire, he focused on the economy and criticized Obama's handling of it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He said, "In the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it – because I have lived it."<ref name="nyt060211">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney raised $56 million in 2011, more than double the amount raised by any of his Republican opponents,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and refrained from spending his own money on the campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He initially pursued a low-key, low-profile strategy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Michele Bachmann staged a brief surge in polls, which preceded a poll surge in September 2011 by Rick Perry, who had entered the race the month before.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Perry and Romney exchanged sharp criticisms of each other during a series of debates among the Republican candidates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The October 2011 decisions of Palin and Chris Christie not to run effectively settled the field of candidates.<ref name="ap-field" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Perry faded after poor performances in those debates, while Herman Cain's "long-shot" bid gained popularity until allegations of sexual misconduct derailed it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:RomneyToledo (8069625998).jpg

Romney campaign event in Toledo, Ohio

Romney continued to seek support from a wary Republican electorate; at this point in the race, his poll numbers were relatively flat and at a historically low level for a Republican front-runner.<ref name="ap-field">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the charges of flip-flopping that marked his 2008 campaign began to accumulate again, Romney said in November 2011: "I've been as consistent as human beings can be."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cbs-shifting">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wapo-ff">Template:Cite news</ref> In the month before voting began, Newt Gingrich experienced a significant surge – taking a solid lead in national polls and most of the early caucus and primary states<ref name="pol-nfr">Template:Cite news</ref> – before settling back into parity or worse with Romney following a barrage of negative ads from Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney Super PAC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the initial contest, the Iowa caucuses of January 3, election officials announced Romney as ahead with 25% of the vote, edging out a late-gaining Rick Santorum by eight votes (Ron Paul finished third).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sixteen days later, however, they certified Santorum as the winner by 34 votes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A week after the Iowa caucuses, Romney earned a decisive win in the New Hampshire primary with 39% of the vote; Paul finished second and Jon Huntsman Jr. third.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary, Gingrich launched ads criticizing Romney for causing job losses while at Bain Capital, Perry referred to Romney's role there as "vulture capitalism", and Palin pressed Romney to prove his claim that he created 100,000 jobs during that time.<ref name="fox011312">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney also faced accusations of asset stripping.<ref>Kantrow, Yvette. (January 23, 2012). Romney's Bain. HuffPost.</ref><ref>Dowd, Maureen. (January 10, 2012). A Perfect Doll. New York Times.</ref><ref>Porritt, Richard. (April 13, 2012). Rivals force Mitt Romney to defend former life as an 'asset stripper. Evening Standard.</ref> Many conservatives rallied in defense of Romney, rejecting what they took to be criticism of free-market capitalism.<ref name="fox011312" /> During two debates in the state, Romney fumbled questions about releasing his income tax returns, while Gingrich gained support with audience-rousing attacks on the debate moderators.<ref name="mcc-sc" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney's double-digit lead in state polls evaporated; he lost the January 21 primary to Gingrich by 13 points.<ref name="mcc-sc" /> Combined with the delayed loss in Iowa, Romney's poor week represented a lost chance to end the race early, and he quickly decided to release two years of his tax returns.<ref name="mcc-sc">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The race turned to the Florida primary, where in debates, appearances, and advertisements, Romney launched a sustained barrage against Gingrich's record, associations and electability.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney enjoyed a large spending advantage from both his campaign and his aligned Super PAC, and after a record-breaking rate of negative ads from both sides, Romney won Florida on January 31, with 46% of the vote to Gingrich's 32%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan seen in medium distance on an outdoor stage, with large crowd around them

With running mate Paul Ryan in Norfolk, Virginia, during the vice presidential selection announcement on August 11, 2012

Several caucuses and primaries took place during February, and Santorum won three in a single night early in the month, propelling him into the lead in national and some state polls and positioning him as Romney's chief rival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Days later, Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference that he had been a "severely conservative governor"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (while in 2005 he had maintained that his positions were moderate and characterized reports that he was shifting to the right to attract conservative votes as a media distortion<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>). He sought Donald Trump's endorsement, and received it in February 2012, with a speech by Trump and Romney in which Romney joked that he had spent his "life in the private sector, not quite as successful as this guy [Trump] but successful nonetheless".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Romney won the other five February contests, including a closely fought one in Michigan at the end of the month.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses of March 6, Romney won six of ten contests, including a narrow victory in Ohio over a vastly outspent Santorum. Although his victories were not enough to end the race, they were enough to establish a two-to-one delegate lead over Santorum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney maintained his delegate margin through subsequent contests,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Santorum suspended his campaign on April 10.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following a sweep of five more contests on April 24, the Republican National Committee put its resources to work for Romney as the party's presumptive nominee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

General election

Polls consistently indicated a tight race for the November general election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Negative ads from both sides dominated the campaign, with Obama's proclaiming that Romney shipped jobs overseas while at Bain Capital and kept money in offshore tax havens and Swiss bank accounts.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite news</ref> A related issue dealt with Romney's purported responsibility for actions at Bain Capital after taking the Olympics post.<ref name="bg-paid" /><ref name="ap-exit" /> Romney faced demands from Democrats to release additional years of his tax returns, an action a number of Republicans also felt would be wise; after being adamant that he would not do that, he released summaries of them in late September.<ref name="pol-taxes11">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During May and June, the Obama campaign spent heavily and was able to paint a negative image of Romney in voters' minds before the Romney campaign could construct a positive one.<ref name="bg-retro"/>

In July 2012, Romney visited the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland, meeting leaders in an effort to raise his credibility as a world statesman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Comments he made about the readiness of the 2012 Summer Olympics were perceived as undiplomatic by the British press.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Israeli Prime Minister (and former BCG colleague) Benjamin Netanyahu embraced Romney, though some Palestinians criticized him for suggesting that Israel's culture led to their greater economic success.<ref name="wt-trip">Template:Cite news</ref>

On August 11, 2012, the Romney campaign announced Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On August 28, 2012, the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, officially nominated Romney for president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney became the first LDS Church member to be a major-party presidential nominee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In mid-September, a video surfaced of Romney speaking before a group of supporters in which he said that 47% of the nation pays no income tax, are dependent on the federal government, see themselves as victims, and will support Obama unconditionally. He went on to say, "And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wapo-47">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After facing criticism about the tone and accuracy of these comments, he at first characterized them as "inelegantly stated", then a couple of weeks later commented: "I said something that's just completely wrong."<ref name="nyt-deb1" /> Exit polls published following the election showed that voters never saw Romney as someone who cared about people like them.<ref name="bg-retro"/>

In an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, Romney called Russia "our number one geopolitical foe".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time an innocuous response to a foreign policy question, it became a focal point for Democratic attacks on Romney during the campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mediaite.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, called Romney's position "dated" and said Russia had been an ally in solving problems,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Joe Biden, then vice president, accused Romney of having a "Cold War mentality" and being "uninformed" on foreign policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John Kerry, then a senator, called Romney's comments "breathtakingly off target"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and reiterated that position at the Democratic National Convention, saying, "He's even blurted out the preposterous notion that Russia is our number one political geopolitical foe."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Romney defended his remarks, saying, "The nation which consistently opposes our actions at the United Nations has been RussiaTemplate:Nbsp... Russia is a geopolitical foe in that regard",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and continued to defend his position in the presidential debates.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Colored map

Electoral College results

The first of three 2012 presidential election debates took place on October 3, in Denver. Media figures and political analysts widely viewed Romney as having delivered a stronger and more focused presentation than Obama.<ref name="nyt-deb1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That debate overshadowed Obama's improved presentation in the next two debates later in October, and Romney maintained a small advantage in the debates when seen as a whole.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The election took place on November 6, and Obama was projected the winner at about 11:14 pm Eastern Standard Time.<ref name="whio">Template:Cite news</ref> He won 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206. Romney lost all but one of nine battleground states and received 47% of the popular vote to Obama's 51%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Media accounts described Romney as "shellshocked" by the result.<ref name="cbs-end">Template:Cite news</ref> He and his senior campaign staff had disbelieved public polls showing Obama narrowly ahead and had thought they were going to win until the vote tallies began to be reported on election night.<ref name="cbs-end"/> But Romney's get out the vote operation had been inferior to Obama's, both in person-to-person organization and in voter modeling and outreach technology<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (the latter exemplified by the failure of the Project Orca application).<ref name="bg-retro">Template:Cite news</ref> In his concession speech to his supporters, he said, "Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign. I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead this country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Reflecting on his defeat during a conference call to hundreds of fundraisers and donors a week after the election, Romney attributed the outcome to Obama's having secured the votes of specific interest groups, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, young people, and women, by offering them what Romney called "extraordinary financial gifts".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The remark drew heavy criticism from prominent members of the Republican party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Subsequent activities

File:Speaker Ryan with Governor & Ann Romney.tif

Mitt and Ann Romney with Paul Ryan in 2015

During the first year after his defeat, Romney generally kept a low profile,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with his ordinary daily activities around San Diego captured via social media glimpses.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December 2012, he joined the board of Marriott International for a third stint as a director.<ref name="ap-mbd-3">Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2013, Romney gave a reflective interview on Fox News Sunday, saying, "It kills me not to be there, not to be in the White House doing what needs to be done." He again expressed regret at the "47 percent" remark, saying "There's no question that hurt and did real damage to my campaign."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (He echoed both those sentiments a year later.<ref name="nyt-noquit"/>) Romney began working as executive partner group chairman for Solamere Capital, a private capital firm in Boston owned by his son Tagg.<ref name="bg-year-later"/> He was also involved in supporting several charitable causes.<ref name="bg-year-later"/>

The Romneys bought a home in the Deer Valley area of Park City, Utah,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="slt-vreg"/> and a property in Holladay, Utah,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> where they planned to tear down an existing house and build a new one.<ref name="bg-year-later">Template:Cite news</ref> They also gained long-sought permission to replace their La Jolla home with a much bigger one, including a car elevator that had brought some derision during the 2012 campaign.<ref name="bg-year-later"/><ref name="slt-rooms"/> Romney and his siblings continued to own a cottage in a gated community called Beach O' Pines south of Grand Bend, Ontario, which has been in the family for more than 60 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With the new acquisitions the couple briefly had five homes, near each of their five sons and their families, and the couple continued to spend considerable time with their grandchildren, who by 2013 numbered 22.<ref name="bg-year-later"/><ref name="slt-rooms">Template:Cite news</ref> They then sold the condominium in Belmont and decided to make their main residence in Utah,<ref name="nyt-noquit">Template:Cite news</ref> switching their voter registration.<ref name="slt-vreg">Template:Cite news</ref> The 2014 documentary film Mitt showed a behind-the-scenes, family-based perspective on both of Romney's presidential campaigns and received positive reviews for humanizing Romney and illustrating the toll campaigning takes.<ref name="nyt-noquit"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bg-2016-run">Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney thought he might be branded a "loser for life" and fade into an obscurity like his fellow former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis<ref name="nyt-noquit"/> (a similar figure with no obvious base of political support who had lost what his party considered a winnable presidential election)<ref name="db-cb">Template:Cite news</ref> but, to the surprise of many political observers, that did not happen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney reemerged onto the political scene in the run-up to the 2014 U.S. midterm elections, endorsing, campaigning, and fundraising for a number of Republican candidates, especially those running for the U.S. Senate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2016 presidential election

By early 2014, the lack of a clear mainstream Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election led some supporters, donors, and pollsters to suggest that Romney stage a third run.<ref name="bg-2016-run"/> Regarding such a possibility, Romney at first refused.<ref name="bg-2016-run"/> Nevertheless, speculation continued: Obama's declining popularity led to remorse among some voters; the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine made Romney's "number one geopolitical foe" remark look prescient; and an August 2014 poll of Iowa Republicans showed Romney with a large lead there over other potential 2016 candidates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A July 2014 CNN poll showed Romney with a 53% to 44% lead over Obama in a hypothetical election "redo".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By early 2015, Romney was considering the idea and contacting his network of supporters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wapo-3-2016">Template:Cite news</ref> In doing so he was positioning himself in the invisible primary – the preliminary jockeying for the backing of party leaders, donors, and political operatives – against former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who had already set a likely campaign in motion and would be a rival to Romney for establishment Republican support.<ref name="wapo-3-2016" /><ref name="NYT4915">Template:Cite news</ref> Despite support in some quarters for a third bid for the presidency, there was a backlash from conservatives who wanted a fresher face without a history of presidential losses,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and many of Romney's past donors were not willing to commit to him again.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 30, 2015, Romney announced that he would not run for president in 2016, saying that while he thought he could win the nomination, "one of our next generation of Republican leaders" would be better positioned to win the general election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Relationship with Donald Trump

As the presidential election went into primary season, Romney had not endorsed anyone but was one of the Republican establishment figures who were becoming increasingly concerned about the front-runner status of New York businessman Donald Trump.<ref name="nyt-desperate">Template:Cite news</ref> Romney publicly criticized Trump for not releasing his taxes, saying there might be a "bombshell" in them.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trump responded by calling Romney "one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics".<ref name="nyt-desperate" /> In a March 3, 2016 speech at the Hinckley Institute of Politics, Romney made a scathing attack on Trump's personal behavior, business performance, and domestic and foreign policy stances. He called him a "con man" who relied on his father's loans<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and "a phony, a fraud", adding: "He's playing members of the American public for suckers. If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Romneyslam">Template:Cite news</ref> In response, Trump called Romney a "choke artist".<ref name="Romneyslam" /> Romney's speech represented an unprecedented attack by a major U.S. party's most recent presidential nominee against the party's current front-runner for the nomination.<ref name="Romneyslam" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:President Trump Hosts a Listening Session (49118848461) (cropped).jpg

Romney with President Donald Trump during a White House listening session on the youth vaping and electronic cigarette epidemic in 2019

Romney encouraged Republicans to engage in tactical voting, by supporting whichever of the remaining rivals had the best chance to beat Trump in any given state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As such, Romney announced he was voting for, although not endorsing, Ted Cruz for president in the March 22 Utah caucus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As the race went on, there was some evidence that tactical voting was occurring, and some partial arrangements were formed among candidates,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but by May 3, Trump had defeated all his opponents and became the party's presumptive nominee. Romney announced that he would not support Trump in the general election, saying, "I am dismayed at where we are now. I wish we had better choices."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June, Romney said that he would not vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, saying: "It's a matter of personal conscience. I can't vote for either of those two people." He suggested that he might vote for a third-party candidate, or write in his wife's name, saying she would be "an ideal president". When pressed on which of Trump and Clinton was more qualified to be president, Romney quoted P. J. O'Rourke: "Hillary Clinton is wrong on every issue, but she's wrong within the normal parameters."<ref name="consciencewont">Template:Cite web</ref>

Romney considered voting for the Libertarian ticket of former Republican governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld (the latter, like Romney, also a former governor of Massachusetts), saying that he would "get to know Gary Johnson better and see if he's someone who I could end up voting for", adding that "if Bill Weld were at the top of the ticket, it would be very easy for me to vote for Bill Weld for president."<ref name=trickledown/> In September, he called for Johnson to be included in the presidential debates<ref name=trickledown>Template:Cite web</ref> and in October it emerged that Independent candidate Evan McMullin was using an email list of 2.5 million Romney supporters to raise money.<ref name="evanusing">Template:Cite web</ref> McMullin's chief strategist said that it was purchased from Romney for President and that "we'll let other folks discuss what that may mean and certainly never speak for [Romney]."<ref name="evanusing" /> A spokeswoman for Romney said that the list had been "rented by several political candidates in the presidential primary, and by countless other political and commercial users in the time since the 2012 campaign"<ref name="evanusing" /> and Romney made no public comment on McMullin's candidacy.<ref name="romneycast">Template:Cite web</ref> Romney and his wife cast early ballots in Utah, but he declined to say who he voted for.<ref name="romneycast" /> In May 2018, Romney revealed that he had cast a write-in vote for his wife Ann.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After Trump won the election, Romney congratulated him by phone and on Twitter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On November 19, Romney met with him at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, reportedly to discuss the position of Secretary of State,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which ultimately went to Rex Tillerson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2017, Romney said that Trump was "off to a very strong start" in fulfilling his campaign promises, although he had "no regrets" about his anti-Trump speech.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The next year, Trump endorsed Romney's 2018 senate campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2018 United States Senate campaign in Utah

File:Swearing in of Mitt Romney.jpg

Romney being sworn in as Senator from Utah by Vice President Mike Pence

September and October 2017 press reports said that should U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch retire, Romney would run for that seat in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On January 2, 2018, after Hatch announced that he would retire, Romney changed his Twitter location from Massachusetts to Holladay, Utah, contributing to speculation that he was considering a Senate campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On February 16, 2018, Romney formally launched his campaign with a video message posted on Facebook and Twitter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the state Republican nominating convention held on April 21, 2018, Romney received 1,585 delegate votes (49.1%), finishing second to State Representative Mike Kennedy, with 1,642 delegate votes (50.9%). Since neither Romney nor Kennedy garnered the 60% of delegate votes necessary to claim the endorsement, they competed in a June 26 primary election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the primary, Romney defeated Kennedy, 71.7–28.3%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney was elected U.S. senator from Utah on November 6, defeating Democratic nominee Jenny Wilson, 62.6% to 30.9%.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

With his election, Romney became the third person to have served as governor of one state and senator from another state.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> (The other two were William W. Bibb, who served as a U.S. senator from Georgia and then the first governor of Alabama, and Sam Houston, who was the sixth governor of Tennessee before becoming a U.S. senator from Texas.)<ref name=":0" />

U.S. Senate (2019–2025)

Tenure

File:Biden meets with Republican senators on COVID relief.png

Romney and other Republican Senators meet with President Joe Biden to discuss COVID-19 relief in February 2021.

Shortly before assuming office, Romney wrote a Washington Post editorial strongly criticizing Trump's character.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ronna McDaniel, Romney's niece and the chair of the Republican National Committee, called his comments "disappointing and unproductive", while Trump wrote that he "[w]ould much prefer that Mitt focus on Border Security and so many other things where he can be helpful".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By November 9, 2019, Romney was just one of three Republican senators, along with Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who declined to co-sponsor a resolution opposing the impeachment inquiry process into Trump.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was one of two Republicans (with Collins) who joined all Democrats voting to allow impeachment witnesses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Romney condemned the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, saying: "As we celebrate the miracle of Easter, we hold in our hearts the victims of the senseless violence in Sri Lanka and their loved ones."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After many called for Representative George Santos to step down after being investigated by the House Ethics Committee, Romney confronted Santos during President Biden's 2023 State of the Union Address, saying he "shouldn't be in Congress".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:AnchorSocial media

In the October 2019 issue of The Atlantic, Romney revealed that he used a secret Twitter account to keep tabs on political conversation there, saying, "What do they call me, a lurker?"<ref name="Coppins">Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly thereafter, Slate found a Twitter account with the name Pierre Delecto. The account was registered in July 2011, followed about 700 people, and had eight followers at the time it was discovered. It had tweeted 10 times, always in reply to other tweets. The next day, Romney confirmed ownership of the account.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

First impeachment of Donald Trump (2019–2020)

File:FULL REMARKS -- Senator Mitt Romney to vote to convict President Trump on Abuse of Power.webm

"Full Remarks – Senator Mitt Romney to vote to convict President Trump on Abuse of Power" – video from C-SPAN

On February 5, 2020, after Romney read a prepared text on the Senate floor decrying "corrupting an election to keep oneself in office" as "perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> he broke ranks with the Republican majority as the sole Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> thereby becoming, according to press reports, the first U.S. senator in United States history to vote to convict a president of the same political party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fallout from the vote included Romney's being formally censured by various Republican organizations outside of Utah; in comparison, anger against Romney among Republicans within Utah was more muted, and his impeachment vote, according to opinion polling, was supported by Utah Democrats.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jason Perry, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, said, "Democrats in Utah were more excited about Mitt Romney's vote than [Utah] Republicans were disappointed."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Republicans for the Rule of Law ran various ads thanking Romney.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

March with Black Lives Matter

On June 7, 2020, in response to the murder of George Floyd and the worldwide protests against police brutality, Romney became the first Republican senator to participate in a protest alongside Black Lives Matter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He said, "We need many voices against racism and against brutality, and we need to make sure that people understand that Black Lives Matter."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This act drew praise and admiration from the left and right, with some Republicans questioning why other congressional Republicans were not showing support for the movement. On Twitter, Senator Kamala Harris praised Romney's actions, saying, "We need more of this."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Trump mocked Romney, saying, "Tremendous sincerity, what a guy. Hard to believe, with this kind of political talent, his numbers would 'tank' so badly in Utah!"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2020 presidential election

Romney did not endorse Trump's 2020 reelection campaign and told reporters that he did not vote for him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a Washington Post op-ed, Romney wrote that Trump "has not risen to the mantle of the office".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the victory of Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, Romney was the first Republican senator to extend his congratulations to them.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

2021 U.S. Capitol attack

File:Senator Mitt Romney pays tribute to Officer Brian Sicknick.jpg

Romney pays tribute to Officer Brian Sicknick.

On the morning of January 5, 2021, Romney was heckled and harassed at the airport on his way to Washington, D.C., to certify Joe Biden's election win in the Senate. Cellphone footage of the incident showed Trump supporters accusing Romney of not supporting Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, and chanting "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!" as Romney boarded his flight.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

On the morning of January 6, protesters assembled at the "Save America" rally on the Ellipse, where Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and several members of Congress addressed the crowd fueling the conspiracy theories about election fraud.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>President Donald Trump, Template:YouTube, ABC News, January 8, 2021, minutes 10:55–11:06.</ref> Trump said, "We will never give up, we will never concede. You don't concede when there's theft", and encouraged his supporters to "fight like hell" to "take back our country" and to march to the Capitol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later that day, while the Senate was in session certifying the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count within the United States Capitol, hundreds of Trump supporters violently attacked the Capitol, where they looted senators' offices and broke into the chamber of the United States Senate. Police evacuated the senators and Vice President Mike Pence to an undisclosed area. As they were evacuating Romney, he yelled at Ted Cruz and other Republican congressmen, "This is what you've gotten, guys!"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin, Romney told him with "fury in his voice", "Template:Em is what the president has caused today, this insurrection!"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Romney fully rebuked Trump and condemned the actions of the attackers. Later that night, when Congress had reconvened, Romney said on the Senate floor: Template:BlockquoteOn February 10, 2021, new video was released during Trump's second impeachment trial that showed capitol police officer Eugene Goodman saving Romney from running into the Capitol rioters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During a break in the hearing, Romney said, "It was very troubling seeing the great violence the capitol police were subjected to. It tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. It was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional." Romney also said he didn't know how close he was and didn't know it had been Goodman who diverted him away from the rioters, but that he looked forward to thanking Goodman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On May 27, 2021, along with five other Republicans and all present Democrats, Romney voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 attack. The vote failed for lack of 60 required "yes" votes.<ref>Republican senators torpedo Jan. 6 commission, Roll Call, Chris Marquette, May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref>

Second impeachment of Donald Trump (2021)

On January 13, 2021, the House voted to impeach Trump a second time for incitement of insurrection.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> On January 26, Republican senator Rand Paul of Kentucky introduced a motion to dismiss the impeachment charge. The objection was defeated on a 55–45 vote; Romney was one of the five Republicans to vote against it, along with Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 13, 2021, Romney and five other Republican senators voted to allow other witnesses in the impeachment trial. Republican senator and Trump ally Ron Johnson got in a heated exchange with Romney, saying, "We never should've had this impeachment trial."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later that day Romney voted to convict Trump for the second time along with six of his Republican colleagues. The final vote was 57 to convict and 43 to acquit. He wrote a statement that read in part: Template:Blockquote

Committee assignments

During the 117th Congress, Romney sat on the following committees:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation
  • Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Governmental Operations and Border Management
• Committee on Budget (2021–present)
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families
  • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety

Political positions

Romney and Obama shaking hands

Romney meeting with President Obama after the 2012 presidential election

Template:Conservatism US In addition to calling for cuts in federal government spending to help reduce the national debt, Romney proposed measures intended to limit the growth of entitlement programs, such as introducing means testing and gradually raising the eligibility ages for receipt of Social Security and Medicare.<ref name="detroitecon">Template:Cite news</ref> He supported substantial increases in military spending and promised to invest more heavily in military weapons programs while increasing the number of active-duty military personnel.<ref name="cnndefenspend">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="milspend">Template:Cite web</ref> He was very supportive of the directions taken by the budget proposals of Paul Ryan, though he later proposed his own budget plan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney pledged to lead an effort to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") and replace it with a system that gives states more control over Medicaid and makes health insurance premiums tax-advantaged for individuals in the same way they are for businesses.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He favored repeal of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Sarbanes–Oxley Act and intended to replace them with what he called a "streamlined, modern regulatory framework".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He also promised to seek income tax law changes that he said would help to lower federal deficits and would stimulate economic growth. These included reducing individual income tax rates across the board by 20%, maintaining the Bush administration-era tax rate of 15% on investment income from dividends and capital gains (and eliminating this tax entirely for those with annual incomes less than $200,000), cutting the top tax rate on corporations from 35% to 25%, and eliminating the estate tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax.<ref name="romneytaxplan">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cnnmtaxcut">Template:Cite news</ref> He promised that the loss of government revenue from these tax cuts would be offset by closing loopholes and placing limits on tax deductions and credits available to taxpayers with the highest incomes,<ref name="cnnmtaxcut" /> but said that that aspect of the plan could not yet be evaluated because details would have to be worked out with Congress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Mitt Romney and Amy Coney Barrett.jpg

Romney said he would support President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

Romney opposed the use of mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions to deal with global warming.<ref name="cbs-shifting" /> He stated that he believed climate change is occurring, but that he did not know how much of it could be linked to human activity.<ref name="cbs-shifting" /> He was a proponent of increased domestic oil drilling, hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), building more nuclear power plants, and reducing the regulatory authority of the Environmental Protection Agency.<ref name="romenergy">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="njfrack">Template:Cite news</ref> He believed North American energy independence could be achieved by 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney called Russia America's "number one geopolitical foe",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a position many ridiculed him for,<ref name="mediaite.com"/> including former secretary of state Madeleine Albright,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who later publicly apologized to him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has asserted that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capability should be America's "highest national security priority".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney stated his strong support for Israel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He planned to formally label China a currency manipulator and take associated counteractions unless China changed its trade practices.<ref name="ontheissues.org">Template:Cite web</ref> Romney supported the Patriot Act,<ref name="Patrio">Template:Cite news</ref> the continued operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, and use of enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists.<ref name="Patrio" /> He described same-sex marriage as a "state issue" while running for Senate in 1994 and opposed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions, but favored domestic partnership legislation that gives certain legal rights to same-sex couples, such as hospital visitation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2011, he signed a pledge promising to seek passage of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, Romney reversed his previous position on federal marriage, and was one of 12 Republicans voting to advance legislation to codify same-sex marriage into federal law by voting for the Respect for Marriage Act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv-Yafo, October 2023 (GPOHZ0 1847).jpg

Romney and Chuck Schumer with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv during the Gaza war on October 15, 2023

Since 2005, Romney has described himself as "pro-life".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That year, he wrote: "I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nb-abor" group="nb">Romney's cited exceptions regarding abortion are in line with those of the LDS Church,<ref name="nyt-bishop" /> which allows it in cases of rape, incest, when the mother's health is seriously threatened, or when the fetus cannot survive past birth.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /> When Romney was a bishop in the 1980s, there was a case where a woman in his congregation with four children was advised by her doctor to terminate her pregnancy because she had a potentially life-threatening blood clot. Romney strongly advised her not to, but she did anyway.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /><ref name="nyt-bishop" /></ref><ref name="nb-stem" group="nb">Romney also amended his position on embryonic stem cell research: having once supported it broadly, he changed to being against therapeutic cloning of embryos for scientific research, insisting that "surplus embryos" from fertility treatments should be used instead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref></ref> During his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney had said, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country", a stance he reiterated during his 2002 campaign for governor.<ref name="cbs-a-views"/><ref name="ft">Template:Cite news</ref> While Romney would prefer to see passage of a constitutional amendment that would outlaw abortion, he did not believe the public would support such an amendment;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as an alternative, he promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would help overturn Roe v. Wade, allowing each state to decide on the legality of abortion.<ref name="judges">Template:Cite news</ref> His earlier pro-abortion rights stance in particular and support for some gay rights and gun restrictions as governor of Massachusetts earned him the criticism of some conservatives; the conservative magazine Human Events labeled him one of the top ten RINOs in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney said he would appoint federal judges in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Samuel Alito.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="huck-video">Template:Cite video</ref> He advocated judicial restraint and strict constructionism as judicial philosophies.<ref name="huck-video" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Romney declared his support for the Black Lives Matter international human rights movement by attending the rally,<ref name="BoorsteinNatanson">Template:Cite news</ref> and then joining the Faith Works<ref name="christianitytoday">Template:Cite web</ref> march, on June 7, 2020,<ref name="andrewsolender">Template:Cite news</ref> from southeast Washington,<ref name="christianitytoday"/> past the Trump International Hotel,<ref name="BoorsteinNatanson"/> and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,<ref name="BoorsteinNatanson"/> over the murder of George Floyd.<ref name="andrewsolender"/><ref name="BoorsteinNatanson"/><ref name="christianitytoday"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In July 2020, Romney, along with Pat Toomey, was one of two Republican U.S. Senators who condemned Trump's decision to commute the sentence of Roger Stone, which Romney described as "Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In September 2020, Romney said the Republicans' decision to nominate and confirm Amy Coney Barrett as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States before the 2020 presidential election was fair: "the circumstance where a nominee of a president is from a different party than the Senate then, more often than not, the Senate does not confirm. So the Garland decision was consistent with that. On the other hand, when there's a nominee of a party that is in the same party as the Senate, then typically they do confirm."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following month after meeting with Barrett, Romney stated, "She is impressive, and her distinguished legal and academic credentials make it clear that she is exceptionally well qualified to serve as our next Supreme Court justice. I am confident that she will faithfully apply the law and our Constitution, impartially and regardless of policy preferences."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2024, Romney proposed a framework to mitigate the existential risk from artificial general intelligence along with senators Jack Reed, Jerry Moran, and Angus King. Romney said he would like to see regulation that "would restrict the types of actions that could lead to existential, or health, or other serious consequences".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On July 21, 2024, when President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election, Romney posted a statement which read: "Others will judge his presidency. However, having worked with him these past few years, I respect President Biden. His decision to withdraw from the race was right and is in the best interest of the country." He added, "Ann and I send warm personal wishes to the President and First Lady."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Electoral history

U.S. Senator from Utah

colspan="5" Template:Party shading/Republican | Utah State Republican Convention results, 2018
Candidate	First ballot	Pct.	Second ballot	Pct.
Template:Sortname	1,354	40.7%	1,642	50.9%
Template:Sortname	1,539	46.2%	1,585	49.1%
Template:Sortname	4	0.1%	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	29	0.9%	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	7	0.2%	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	0	N/A	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	100	3.0%	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	2	0.1%	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	163	4.9%	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	0	N/A	Template:Sort
Template:Sortname	122	3.7%	Template:Sort
Total	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort	Template:Sort

Awards and honors

Honorary degrees

Date	School	Degree
1999	University of Utah	Doctorate of Business<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2002	Bentley College	Doctor of Law<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
2004	Suffolk University Law School	Doctor of Public Administration<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
2007	Hillsdale College	Doctorate in Public Service<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2012	Liberty University	Doctor of Humanities<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2013	Southern Virginia University	Honorary Doctorate<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2015	Jacksonville University	Honorary Doctorate<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2015	Utah Valley University	Doctorate of Business<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2015	Saint Anselm College	Honorary Doctorate<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Non-academic awards and honors

Photograph of Romney flanked by two other men at a formal awards occasion

Receiving the 2006 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award on behalf of his state

People magazine included Romney in its 50 Most Beautiful People list for 2002,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in 2004, a foundation that promotes the Olympic truce gave him its inaugural Truce Ideal Award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Cranbrook School gave him its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.<ref name="wapo-cran" /> In 2008, he shared with his wife Ann the Canterbury Medal from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for "refus[ing] to compromise their principles and faith" during the presidential campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2012, Time magazine included Romney in their List of The 100 Most Influential People in the World.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2021, Romney received the Profile in Courage Award for being the only member of his party to vote to convict Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2024, Romney received the annual Legislative Achievement Award from the National Emergency Management Association for his efforts in creating the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission in Utah.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Published works

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See also

• List of governors of Massachusetts
• List of United States senators from Utah
• List of United States Republican Party presidential tickets
• President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

Bibliography

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Further reading and viewing

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External links

• Official U.S. Senate website
• Mitt Romney for U.S. Senate Template:Dash Official campaign site
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• Template:C-SPAN

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