Utah House speaker joins race to replace Romney

Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, a Republican, is set to announce Wednesday his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mitt Romney.

Wilson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he launched an “exploratory committee” in April to consider running for the seat. A “number of factors” played into his decision to enter the race, he said.

“One is just the overwhelming support we’ve had from everyone in the state – from elected officials to grassroots support. Just a lot of people encouraging us to run, whether it’s been support in terms of wanting to go out and knock doors or get supporters on board [with] financial support,” Wilson told Fox. “I mean, that’s been overwhelming.”

Romney announced earlier this month that he would retire from the Senate when his term ends in 2025. He said in a statement that it is time for a new generation of political leaders to step in.  

Wilson has represented Utah’s 15th District since 2011. He is expected to announce his run at 6 p.m. MST at an event in Draper, Utah on Wednesday.

“At the end of the day, our country is not on the right path and we all know it. People feel like Utah is on the right path, and I feel like I’ve got a lot and a tremendous amount to offer in terms of being able to go back to Washington, D.C. as a conservative, as a conservative fights and representing Utah’s values back in the U.S. Senate,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the issues he will focus on to get the country on the “right path” are fiscal health and responsibility.

“We’ve got to get off the road of reckless spending, mandates, and growing socialism, which we’re seeing all across this country,” he said. “We’ve got to get back to being more responsible. We need to think about how we can actually reduce the tax burden on the middle class.”

He wants to see energy policy become “energy independent,” “instead of being energy dependent,” he added.  

Wilson said he is running because people in Utah “would really like to feel like they’re being represented in Washington, D.C., not having Washington, D.C. represented to them.”

Utah GOP Chairman Robert Axson confirmed that roughly 30 people have expressed interest in Romney’s seat. A dozen of them are “seriously considering right now,” he said.

Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs and Roosevelt Mayor Rod Bird Jr. have both declared their candidacy for the seat.