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Posted: 3:51 PM- WASHINGTON - Josh Romney, the middle son of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, toyed with the idea of running for Congress in Utah but says now he's definitely not going to jump into the race this year.
Josh Romney, 32, who lives in Millcreek outside of Salt Lake City, says after zipping across the United States for more than a year, including visiting all 99 counties in Iowa, he wants to take a break from politics before plunging into another campaign.
"Just having come off a tough election with my dad, I think the family's not quite ready to hop back into another race," Josh Romney said Saturday. "It's going to be nice to spend some time with the kids and take some time out of politics."
Two years from now, though, Romney says he may launch a campaign to oust Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson from his 2nd District seat.
"I guess I'm not ruling anything out or ruling anything in," he says. But, "this one I'm definitely ruling out."
The Romney family is extremely popular in conservative Utah, where Mitt Romney pulled 90 percent of the Republican vote before suspending his campaign in February. Mitt Romney owns a home in the state, ran the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and shares the same Mormon faith as more than 60 percent of the state's resident.
Mitt Romney was skiing at Deer Valley earlier Saturday, Josh Romney said, and planned a dinner with his family that evening. Josh Romney said his dad is doing "really well" since he withdrew as a presidential candidate. Mitt Romney took several states in his presidential bid but was bested by Sen. John McCain, now almost a lock for the Republican nomination.
Josh Romney, who has three kids, ages 1, 3 and 5, says he plans to stay involved in Republican politics in Utah but isn't going to run for any positions this year. He said he thoroughly enjoyed his time on the campaign trail. He spent a good portion of 2007 driving the "Mitt Mobile" across Iowa stumping for his dad.
"I really enjoyed political process, enjoyed talking about issues that concern a lot of Americans, and thought I could be a good representative for a lot of Utahns," Josh Romney said.
He works as a real estate developer in Utah with Mitt Romney friend and supporter Kem Gardner, a high-profile developer and owner of The Gardner Co.
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