Mitt Romney says he’s not running for reelection to the Senate in 2024

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah announced Wednesday he will not run for reelection to a second term in the Senate in 2024, calling for a “new generation of leaders” beyond President Biden and former President Donald Trump to assume power.

“I spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another,” Romney said in a video posted on social media. “At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders.”

Romney, 76, was the Republican nominee for president in 2012 and easily won election to the Senate in Utah in 2018. He also served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

“While I’m not running for reelection, I’m not retiring from the fight,” he said. “I’ll be your United States senator until January of 2025.”

In 2020, Romney became the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a member of his own party in an impeachment trial when he voted to convict Trump of abuse of power. He was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in that case.