EXCLUSIVE: The race to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is gaining momentum as another candidate has thrown in his hat, the first since the senator said last week that he would not run for re-election.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Roosevelt, Utah Mayor Rod Bird, Jr., a Republican, cut Romney’s tenure in office, arguing that the senator did not do what he said he would do when he was first elected in 2018.
“When Romney ran, he campaigned on conservative values and gave a lot of people in our state hope,” Bird said “Many believed he would fight for us, but in many ways he sold us out and did not keep his word.”
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Roosevelt, Utah Mayor Rod Bird, Jr. and Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. (Getty Images, Rod Bird, Jr.)
Bird — who has served as Roosevelt’s mayor since 2018 — said he hopes to run a campaign based on the “spirit of small-town values” and “principles of individualism, limited government, and freedom .”
“We have a lot of career politicians in Washington who are serving their own agenda,” he said. “[Romney] easily marching with radical groups like Black Lives Matter, when he should be walking Main Street and talking to small businesses and working families struggling in our state. ”
“My campaign is not about him or personalities, it’s about standing up for our God-given, constitutional freedoms and fighting for working families, small businesses, and everyday people who are struggling because of what has failed. Joe Biden’s policies.”
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Roosevelt, Utah Mayor and Republican Senate candidate Rod Bird, Jr. (Rod Bird, Jr.)
Bird said he grew up in extreme poverty, and his family still had to live in a 10×20 foot shed after their house burned down. Since then, he founded the oil and gas supply company Paragon Oilfield Products, which made him a multi-millionaire.
As Roosevelt’s mayor, Bird made a name for himself as a strong opponent of government mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as pushing for lower taxes for its citizens. .
“I grew up believing that in America you can come from nothing and do what you want with your life,” he told Fox. “I still wear boots and jeans to work every day. I’m someone who understands the everyday struggles of Utahns because I live it.”
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In announcing his candidacy in the race, Staggs became the first person to publicly challenge Romney, who has angered many voters within his own party because of his reasoning and support for certain policies and bills. (Trent Staggs)
Romney’s retirement launched a frenzy among Republicans seeking to fill the seat with a more conservative candidate. Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs signaled they were launching primary challenges against Romney earlier this year, but Staggs is the only other candidate to officially launch a campaign for the seat.
Tim Ballard, the former Homeland Security Department agent who inspired the hit movie “Sound of Freedom” said Friday that he is “very seriously considering” running for the seat.
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