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Narwhal's avatar

I too would welcome Sen. Romney running for president in 2024.

The question is does he have a viable path to win the Republican nomination and then the general election. I’m not sure that he does in either case.

For anyone unfamiliar with the Hidden Tribes survey (https://hiddentribes.us/profiles/) this may not make sense, to win the general election Romney would need to win the votes of the overwhelming majority of the Moderates (15%) and forgo the votes of many of the Politically Disengaged (26%) who Trump demonstrated he could turn out in 2020. But, he would also need to keep all of the Traditional and Devoted Conservatives energized and supportive of his run.

I don’t know if that is even possible anymore. And I doubt Sen. Romney would want to run in the same manner Trump did, by appealing to and exploiting negative emotions within certain portions of the electorate. I would say he has seen how dangerous that is firsthand.

Fwiw, I’m a Moderate (15%)

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Scott English's avatar

I understand the sentiment, but he's going to be 77 on Election Day 2024. We've got to pass on the baton to the Gen Xers of the world and stop with the Greatest Hits collection. Surely in the vast universe of under 60 politicians, there is a viable and intelligent leader to put forth.

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Narwhal's avatar

A 77 year old who doesn’t drink or smoke and who is clearly still sharp and fit.

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Scott English's avatar

It’s not a criticism of his health or general mental wellness. I happen to believe generational leadership matters and after 30+ years of Silent Generation/Baby Boomers, we should move on.

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Narwhal's avatar

Obama isn’t a Boomer.

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Scott English's avatar

1964 is the end of the Boom. Obama was born in 1961. He’s a Boomer and definitely not an Xer.

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Narwhal's avatar

My mistake. I looked and you are correct. I must have misremembered.

I guess some argue there is a transitional generation between the two and that is where he falls, but that would still place him nearer to the Boomer cohort.

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Scott English's avatar

He was our last young president. I totally understand.

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Ben Connelly's avatar

Mr. McGrath,

I very much admire your efforts in this letter and I would vote for Sen. Romney for president in a heartbeat. However, my concern is that we need him in the Senate. I’m more worried about the House than the Senate - and we dearly need Liz Cheney to hold on to her seat and to remain in the House and not run for president. But too few Senators have Romney’s integrity and we need him to be a bulwark against the influence of the Cruzes and Hawleys of this world.

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