Forget about Romney 2012. Let’s talk Romney 2028.
Out in Utah, Mitt Romney’s son Josh, a 33-year-old real-estate developer, seems to be attracting a whole lot of interest. Barack Obama’s decision to draft Gov. Jon Huntsman as his ambassador to China has opened up some space at the top of the Utah state Republican Party, and, with Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert preparing to move into the big office, Romney Jr. may be selected to fill Herbert’s position. An even more likely scenario involves Romney Jr. campaigning as lieutenant governor with Herbert’s main rival in the special election set for 2010.
It’s not the first time Josh Romney’s name has come up in Utah politics. Back in February, he stirred interest by saying he might challenge Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah’s only Democratic congressman, for his seat representing the 2nd District.
“I’m pretty young,” Romney Jr. said at the time, “but I’ve had good experience on the campaign trail.”
He cut his political teeth stumping for his father’s failed 2008 presidential run. At the wheel of a Winnebago, dubbed the “Mitt Mobile,” Romney fils visited all 99 counties in Iowa. The Romney brothers shone particularly brightly during the campaign, their 500-watt smiles and too-perfect families providing a stark contrast to Rudy Giuliani’s troubled brood. Their group blog on the Romney campaign Web site dripped with the family’s gee-whiz charm.
Josh Romney decided not to run against Matheson, but he’s been more vocal in expressing his interest in the lieutenant governorship. “I’ve learned a lot. This is a position I could handle,” he said of the job on June 1.
