Mitt Romney’s departure from the presidential race on Thursday left many Utahns feeling disappointed and surprised, but U students and faculty said the candidate made the right decision.
“I still feel he’s the best person to be the president of the United States, but Super Tuesday didn’t go as well as hoped,” said Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics and Romney supporter. “I am proud of the decision Romney made to allow his party to rally support for Sen. (John) McCain.”
Romney announced his withdrawal at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., telling conservatives, “I must now stand aside, for our party and our country.”
Romney’s action most likely sealed the deal for Sen. McCain to receive the Republican nomination this summer.
“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Sen. Clinton or Obama would win,” Romney said. “And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”
Andrew Simeona, a freshman business major, said he thinks it was honorable for Romney to drop out of the race and that other candidates, such as Mike Huckabee, should do the same.
“Mitt Romney’s not the perfect candidate, but I don’t like how he was done wrong and no one is acknowledging it,” Simeona said.
Students said candidates such as Huckabee used Romney’s religion against him in the race, because many evangelical Christians said they would not vote for a Mormon. Like a majority of Utahns are, Romney is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Randy Wood, a senior in economics, German and international studies, said the media’s emphasis on Romney’s religion made it hard for voters to make an informed decision.
“I didn’t vote for Romney because I’m Mormon,” he said. “I voted for Romney because I’m a true conservative.”
Wood said it is too early to say whether he would support McCain, calling him “the lesser of two evils” in any race against a Democrat, but he’s interested in what the candidate has to say now that his biggest competition is out of the race.
“Now that the bashing and bantering with Romney will stop, actual policies will come to fruition,” Wood said.
Jowers said he thinks Romney and McCain will come to an understanding and Utahns will ultimately support McCain, even if they didn’t in the past.
Romney had raised more than $5.2 million in Utah and won the state’s primary on Tuesday with almost 90 percent of the Republican vote.
“Mitt Romney is the most important person in John McCain’s life because Utahns and Romney supporters across the nation will follow his lead in determining to what extent they will support John McCain,” Jowers said.
Teresa Uipi, a freshman in business and biology, said she voted for Romney in the primary because of his economic policies, but she thinks she would vote for Obama in the general election.
“I like him more — he’s more focused on youth,” Uipi said.
Ammaron Wolfgramm, a sophomore in business, also was a Romney supporter but said he thinks Obama will go far because of his charisma and focus on change.
“If Obama wins the Democratic race, he will win the whole thing,” Wolfgramm said.
Simeona said McCain will likely win if he is up against Clinton.
“There are enough people who just don’t want to see Hillary (win),” he said.
Jowers, who is a good friend of Romney, acted as legal counsel during McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign and brought McCain to the U in 2002.
“Besides Mitt Romney, I’ve always felt (McCain) was the right person for the job,” Jowers said.
The Associated Press also contributed to this story.