Exclusive – Utah Mayor Slams Mitt Romney After Announcing Senate Run: ‘Doesn’t Represent Most Utahns’

After announcing his upcoming run for the U.S. Senate, the mayor of Riverton, Utah, slammed Sen. Mitt Romney, who he intends to unseat next year, claiming the former presidential candidate “doesn’t represent most Utahns,” and that he could no longer sit by and watch as Romney and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “mortgage my children’s future.”

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Tuesday following his announcement, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs stated he was not going to Washington “to make friends.”

“I’m going because I can’t sit by and watch while guys like Mitt Romney and Chuck Schumer mortgage my children’s future,” he said.

According to Staggs, Romney “doesn’t represent most Utahns.” 

“This guy votes to add trillions in spending, votes twice to impeach President Trump, but then turns around and votes to confirm guys like Open Borders Mayorkas and Radical Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson,” he said, adding “it’s unacceptable.”

WATCH: Mitt Romney Claps with Democrats for KBJ Confirmation as Republicans Leave Chamber:

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The Riverton mayor concluded by insisting, as a mayor and businessman, he is “under no delusions [that] challenging a wealthy incumbent will be easy.”

“I know we can do it, though, and we’re building a coalition,” he added, as he called on supporters to learn more about his campaign and “join the team.”

In the video clip announcing his run posted Tuesday, Staggs noted that Washington is currently “broken,” explaining how “every time we compromise it costs us trillions,” and vowing “enough is enough.”

He also accused Romney of not living up to his campaign promises, including ending illegal immigration and pushing back against federal overreach.

“The only thing I’ve seen him fight for are the establishment, wokeness, open borders, impeaching President Trump, and putting us even deeper into debt,” Staggs says.

Staggs, 49, is among multiple potential contenders predicted to position themselves more conservatively than Romney — who he describes as a “millionaire from Massachusetts” who relocated to Utah.

Over the months leading to his official declaration, Staggs had become more and more outspoken on a variety of topics. 

In March, he vowed to prevent the “communist-style social credit scoring” from guiding his city’s investment decisions, as Riverton unanimously approved a resolution objecting to the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies in credit rating agencies, investment firms, and other financial institutions.

Last month, he slammed woke “indoctrination” in today’s schools, including the availability of “inappropriate” and “pornographic” text materials, as he called to prioritize students’ “physical, mental, and spiritual” safety.

Insisting “there should be no greater priority than our children’s safety; physical, mental, and spiritual,” Staggs said it was his “number one job to protect the health and safety of all our residents.”

Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.