GOP's 'ideological center' could be wiped out when Romney leaves: report

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) made a bombshell announcement on Wednesday, September 13: He won't be seeking reelection in 2024.

The conservative 2012 GOP presidential nominee and ex-governor of Massachusetts has become an unlikely ally of Democrats in recent years, pushing back against former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. At the same time, Romney's willingness to criticize Trump and his allies has infuriated MAGA Republicans.

In an article published on Thursday, Politico's Burgess Everett stresses that Romney's departure will be a game-changer and could wipe out the center in the U.S. Senate.

"Mitt Romney's retirement shines a glaring spotlight on the potentially bleak future of the Senate's ideological center in both parties," Everett explains. "If Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema follow him out the door, it will get worse. Manchin, a centrist Democrat, and the independent Sinema are both still mulling whether to run again. Like Romney, they could be replaced by senators on either end of the ideological spectrum — almost surely a Republican in Manchin's West Virginia."

Everett adds, "And as maligned as Romney, Manchin and Sinema are by one party or the other's faithful, the possible 2024 departures of two or three of them would change the Senate, which passed several notable bipartisan deals in the last Congress."

The reporter notes that in 2024, Utah "could elect an establishment Republican like Gov. Spencer Cox or a combative conservative like Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)."

"Sinema, if she runs, would face a three-way race against Congressional Progressive Caucus member Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and a hard-right Republican like Kari Lake or Blake Masters," Everett notes. "If Manchin retires, Democrats would almost certainly cede the seat to the GOP, which faces a primary between Gov. Jim Justice and the more conservative Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.)."