Mitt Romney

==1994 United States Senate campaign in Massachusetts==
{{Main|1994 United States Senate election in Massachusetts}}
[[File:Romney 1994 No Watermark.jpg|thumb|right|200px|alt=Man smiling at right with sign in background and parents holding toddler at left|Campaigning for U.S. Senate in [[Holyoke, Massachusetts]], 1994]]

For much of his business career, Romney did not take public political stances.<ref name="hersh-139">Hersh, ''The Shadow President'', p. 139.</ref><ref>Canellos, ''The Last Lion'', p. 295.</ref> He had kept abreast of national politics since college,<ref name="nyt-searching" /> and the circumstances of his father's presidential campaign loss had irked him for decades.<ref name="ap-2007-prof" /> He registered as an [[Independent (voter)|Independent]]<ref name="bgseries4" /> and voted in the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1992|1992 presidential primaries]] for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] former senator from Massachusetts, [[Paul Tsongas]].<ref name="hersh-139" /><ref name="slate-ceo">{{cite news|url=https://slate.com/business/2007/02/how-mitt-romney-s-corporate-success-explains-his-campaign-and-his-flip-flops.html|title=The CEO Candidate|author=Gross, Daniel|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=February 26, 2007|author-link=Daniel Gross (journalist)|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=February 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206120214/https://slate.com/business/2007/02/how-mitt-romney-s-corporate-success-explains-his-campaign-and-his-flip-flops.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

By 1993, Romney had begun thinking about entering politics, partly on Ann's urging and partly to follow in his father's footsteps.<ref name="bgseries4" /> He decided to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator [[Ted Kennedy]], who was seeking reelection to a sixth term. Political pundits viewed Kennedy as vulnerable that year, in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole, and in part because this was Kennedy's first election since the [[William Kennedy Smith#Sexual assault accusations|William Kennedy Smith trial]] in Florida, in which Kennedy's reputation had suffered.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref>{{Cite news|author=Marcus, Ruth|title=Clinton Gets a Sense of the Real Thing; Kennedy and Massachusetts Democrats Put on a Campaign Rally|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 21, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4LEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6812,1794559|title=Ted Kennedy lacks luster as he seeks re-election|author=Trott, Robert W.|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Daily News (Kentucky)|Daily News]]|location=Bowling Green, Kentucky|date=July 17, 1994|page=12C|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=February 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208095737/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4LEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6812,1794559|url-status=live}}</ref> Romney changed his affiliation to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994.<ref name="bgseries4" /> In addition to his leave from [[Bain Capital]], Romney also stepped down from his church leadership role in 1994.<ref name="lat-church" />

Radio personality Janet Jeghelian took an early lead in polls among candidates for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat, but Romney proved the most effective fundraiser.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8273657.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502155821/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8273657.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 2, 2013|title=Romney leads GOP Senate hopefuls in race for funds|first=Frank|last=Phillips|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=April 5, 1994}}</ref><ref>Hersh, ''The Shadow President'', pp. 124, 126–127.</ref> He won 68% of the vote at the May 1994 [[Massachusetts Republican Party]] convention; businessman [[John Lakian]] finished a distant second, eliminating Jeghelian.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8279357.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502183752/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8279357.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 2, 2013|title=Romney wins GOP approval; Given the nod for US Senate|first=Frank|last=Phillips|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=May 15, 1994}}</ref> Romney defeated Lakian in the September 1994 primary with more than 80% of the vote.<ref name="crim102194" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Romney will oppose Sen. Kennedy in Nov|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Providence Journal]]|date=September 21, 1994|page=B1}}</ref>

In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious reelection challenge of his career.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /> The younger, telegenic, and well-funded Romney ran as a businessman who said he had created 10,000 jobs and as a Washington outsider with a solid family image and moderate stances on social issues.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/02/19/chapter_5_trials__redemption/|title=Ted Kennedy: Chapter 5: Trials & Redemptions: An untidy private life, then a turn to stability|author=Kahn, Joseph P.|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=February 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222080513/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/02/19/chapter_5_trials__redemption|archive-date=February 22, 2009}}</ref><ref>Clymer, ''Edward M. Kennedy'', p. 549.</ref> When Kennedy tried to tie Romney's policies to those of [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George H. W. Bush]], Romney responded, "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to take us back to Reagan-Bush."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/nov/29/democratic-national-committee/dnc-calls-out-romneys-evolving-affection-reagan/|title=DNC calls out Romney's evolving affection for Reagan|publisher=[[PolitiFact.com]]|date=November 29, 2011|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=February 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206120212/https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/nov/29/democratic-national-committee/dnc-calls-out-romneys-evolving-affection-reagan/|url-status=live}}</ref> Romney said, "Ultimately, this is a campaign about change."<ref>Clymer, ''Edward M. Kennedy'', p. 553.</ref>

Romney's campaign was effective in portraying Kennedy as soft on crime but had trouble establishing its own consistent positions.<ref>Hersh, ''The Shadow President'', pp. 128–129, 139.</ref> By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race about even.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref name="NYT1994-bank-family">{{Cite news |first=Sarah |last=Rimer |title=Kennedy's Wife Is Giving Him a Political Advantage in a Difficult Contest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/24/us/1994-campaign-kennedy-s-wife-giving-him-political-advantage-difficult-contest.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 24, 1994 |access-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022114657/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/24/us/1994-campaign-kennedy-s-wife-giving-him-political-advantage-difficult-contest.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Al |url=http://www.algordon.com/writing/page15/assets/kennedy_in_fight_of_his_political_life_10-02-1994.html |title=Kennedy in Fight of His Political Life |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830203417/http://www.algordon.com/writing/page15/assets/kennedy_in_fight_of_his_political_life_10-02-1994.html |archive-date=August 30, 2009 |work=[[Newsday]], Nassau and Suffolk edition |page=A4 |date=October 2, 1994 |access-date=October 29, 2006 }}</ref> Kennedy responded with a series of ads that focused on Romney's seemingly shifting political views on issues such as abortion;<ref>Hersh, ''The Shadow President'', pp. 141–142.</ref> Romney responded, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country."<ref name="cbs-a-views">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57359886-503544/romney-contradicts-past-comments-on-abortion/|title=Romney contradicts past comments on abortion|first=Brian|last=Montopoli|work=[[CBS News]]|date=January 16, 2012|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021193900/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57359886-503544/romney-contradicts-past-comments-on-abortion/|url-status=live}}</ref> Other Kennedy ads centered on layoffs of workers at the Ampad plant owned by Bain Capital.<ref name="ted-bg-series-5" /><ref>{{cite news|author1=Apple Jr.|author2=R. W.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/26/us/1994-campaign-massachusetts-kennedy-romney-meet-rancor-flows-freely.html|title=Kennedy and Romney Meet, and the Rancor Flows Freely|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 26, 1994|author-link=R. W. Apple Jr.|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date=March 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310084838/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/26/us/1994-campaign-massachusetts-kennedy-romney-meet-rancor-flows-freely.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter was effective in blunting Romney's momentum.<ref name="nym-onep" /> Kennedy and Romney held a widely watched late October debate that had no clear winner, but by then, Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and remained so.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/27/us/the-1994-campaign-massachusetts-kennedy-and-romney-look-to-round-2.html|title=Kennedy and Romney Look to Round 2|author=Clymer, Adam|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 27, 1994|author-link=Adam Clymer|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022114801/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/27/us/the-1994-campaign-massachusetts-kennedy-and-romney-look-to-round-2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Romney spent $3 million of his own money on the race and more than $7 million overall.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8303189.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502143606/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8303189.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 2, 2013|title=2 million may vote on Weld–Roosevelt, Kennedy–Romney|first=Scot|last=Lehigh|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=November 8, 1994}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Kennedy spent $10.5&nbsp;million overall, including a $1.5&nbsp;million loan to himself.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vwASAAAAIBAJ&pg=6451,26718|title=Kennedy reports $1.3 million debt|newspaper=[[The Gainesville Sun]]|date=August 1, 1995|page=5A|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608020647/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vwASAAAAIBAJ&pg=6451%2C26718|url-status=live}}</ref> This was the second-most expensive race of the 1994 election cycle, after the [[Dianne Feinstein]]–[[Michael Huffington]] [[United States Senate election in California, 1994|Senate race in California]].|group="nb"}} Despite a [[Republican Revolution|disastrous showing for Democrats nationwide]], Kennedy won the election with 58% of the vote to Romney's 41%,<ref name="bgseries3" /> the smallest margin in any of Kennedy's reelection campaigns for the Senate.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kennedy|first=Edward M.|author-link=Ted Kennedy|title=True Compass|publisher=[[Twelve (publisher)|Twelve]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-446-53925-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/truecompassmemoi00kenn/page/448 448]|title-link=True Compass}}</ref>

The day after the election, Romney returned to Bain Capital, but the loss had a lasting effect; he told his brother, "I never want to run for something again unless I can win."<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref name="nyt-olympics-edge" />

===After election===
When his father died in 1995, Mitt donated his inheritance to BYU's [[Marriott School of Management#Organization and research|George W. Romney Institute of Public Management]].<ref name="lamb20060319">{{cite interview|title=Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts)|date=March 19, 2006|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?191449-1/qa-mitt-romney|last=Romney|first=Mitt|interviewer=[[Brian Lamb]]|work=[[Q&A (U.S. talk show)|Q&A]]|publisher=[[C-SPAN]]|access-date=February 7, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113083841/https://www.c-span.org/video/?191449-1/qa-mitt-romney|url-status=live}}</ref> He also became vice-chair of the board of the [[Points of Light Foundation]],<ref name="dn082001">{{cite news|url=https://www.deseret.com/2001/8/20/19602551/public-service-for-romney|title=Public service for Romney|author=Roche, Lisa Riley|author2=Bernick Jr., Bob|newspaper=[[Deseret News]]|location=Salt Lake City|date=August 20, 2001|access-date=February 7, 2020|archive-date=February 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207130859/https://www.deseret.com/2001/8/20/19602551/public-service-for-romney|url-status=live}}</ref> which had embraced his father's [[National Volunteer Center]]. Romney felt restless as the decade neared a close; making more money held little attraction for him.<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref name="nyt-olympics-edge">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/us/politics/19romney.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029161106/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/us/politics/19romney.html |archive-date=October 29, 2007 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge|author=Johnson, Kirk|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 19, 2007}}</ref> Although no longer in a local leadership position in his church, he still taught [[Sunday School (LDS Church)|Sunday School]].<ref name="wapo-belmont" /> During the long and controversial approval and construction process for the $30-million [[Boston Massachusetts Temple|Mormon temple in Belmont]], he feared that, as a political figure who had opposed Kennedy, he would become a focal point for opposition to the structure.<ref name="nyt-bishop" /> He thus kept to a limited, behind-the-scenes role in attempts to ease tensions between the church and local residents.<ref name="wapo-belmont" /><ref name="nyt-bishop" /><ref name="wbur-belmont" />