Now a powerful GOP primary attack is “Mitt Romney Republican”

• This year, Mitt Romney is not running for reelection.
• Trump-aligned Republicans who are opposed to the Utah senator have made his name a recurring topic.
• In southeast Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, Republicans have exploited the idea to paint their rivals in the general election.

This year, Mitt Romney is not running for reelection. But in this year’s primaries, Trump-aligned Republicans who are opposed to the Utah senator have made his name a recurring topic by using him as a foil and mockingly dubbing their opponents “Mitt Romney Republicans.”

In southeast Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, Republicans have exploited the idea to paint their rivals in the general election as adversaries of the party under Donald Trump. The fundamental tenet of an attack commercial in North Carolina’s Senate primary by the anti-tax group Club For Growth, one of the most aggressive super PACs in this year’s primaries, was “Mitt Romney Republican.”

But nowhere are Romney Republicanism references as prevalent as they are in Utah. In the run-up to the Republican primary on Tuesday, politicians are frequently using “Mitt Romney Republican” as a campaign trail insult, despite his popularity with many locals.

In a debate last month, Chris Herrod, a former state lawmaker running for the 3rd Congressional District in suburban Utah, declared that “there are two different wings in the Republican Party.”

I’m probably not your guy if you’re more in line with Mitt Romney and Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, he continued.

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Romney’s position as the only senator with the widespread name recognition that comes from being a presidential nominee and the only Republican who voted twice to impeach former President Donald Trump reflect how unique his position is in American politics and how his brand has evolved into effective attack material.

Four years after Romney easily defeated a right-wing state senator in Utah’s Republican primary and a Democrat in the general election, both Badger and Herrod acknowledge that targeting Romney may turn off some voters. However, considering how drastically Republican politics have changed during the past six years, they doubt the longevity of his support.

“Frustration is growing and there is a lot more of it. He wouldn’t prevail in a vote today, and certainly not in a Republican primary, according to Badger.

He compared Moore’s vote to Romney’s two votes in favor of impeachment in a district where Trump still enjoys significant support.

The term “Mitt Romney Republican,” according to Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, may appeal to some Republican primary voters, but given Romney’s popularity, it is unlikely to succeed in Utah.

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They are appealing to a portion of the Republican Party, but Perry believes they lack the necessary support on the far-right to be successful.