Mitt Romney will almost certainly win the Republican primary election in Utah in June. And there is little chance he would lose the state in November if he wins the GOP nomination for the White House.
But Romney, a favorite of Utah Republicans, has not made the inroads he needs to in order to win over the more conservative members of the party. Even in Summit County, where he once was a homeowner and is remembered favorably as the top organizer of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney has critics from the right.
As Romney appears to be marching toward the nomination, a key figure in the conservative movement in Summit County is not convinced he is the best of the Republican hopefuls. Jacqueline Smith, who lives in Wanship and leads a group known as the Save The American Republic Forum, said Romney is not the favorite candidate among people who share her views.
The group, often known as the S.T.A.R. Forum, aligns itself closely with the Tea Party movement and is based on constitutional ideas. Smith, who is also the secretary of the Summit County Republican Party, sees Romney as tending toward bigger government, an ideal that counters her views on the role of government.
Smith said health care reform in Massachusetts while Romney was governor was based on an expansion of the role of the state government. She also is critical of the Olympic organizers’ heavy reliance on federal assistance. Washington provided transportation and security funding, among other help, in 2002.
“He put that on the back of taxpayers. That is a shame to me. It’s not up to the taxpayers to fund the Olympics,” Smith said.
Smith supports the candidacy of Ron Paul, and she said she plans to vote for him in the June primary. Her criticism of Romney intensified early in the week. She said his views on detaining American citizens as part of the wider efforts against terrorism are especially unsettling.
“I don’t even know if I can vote for Mitt Romney,” Smith said.
She acknowledged, though, most conservatives will be in the Romney camp in November if he wins the nomination. She also said his time restructuring companies while at Bain Capital, a target of his critics, is an asset to his campaign.
The leader of the Summit County Republican Party, Henry Glasheen, anticipates Romney will win over the more conservative party members in the state, partly based on his Mormon faith.
Glasheen, who supported Jon Huntsman’s campaign and now is a Romney backer, predicted conservatives will get behind a Romney campaign if he is the party’s nominee. then, he said, Republicans will realize their choices are a Romney-led ticket or a second term for President Obama.