Democratic Senate candidate says she’s more connected to Utah than Mitt Romney

SALT LAKE CITY – Republicans are not the only ones who have been anxiously awaiting Mitt Romney’s U.S. Senate campaign announcement. Democrats have been too. There are fewer than 10 months until the 2018 midterm elections.

Money will be a consideration in this Senate race. Democrat Jenny Wilson has raised more than $400,000, according to Federal Election Commission. Wilson said while she expects big checks to be rolling in for Romney, she said she’s done really well getting support from Utahns.

That’s where Wilson’s biggest point of contention with Romney lies. She said Romney, a Michigan native and former governor of Massachusetts, doesn’t have the connection to Utah like she has.

“I wouldn’t have chosen to run against a two-time presidential candidate certainly, one that I quite like, but I think what’s most important in this race is we really understand that the Utah he depicted today is not the Utah I see and the Utah I understand based on people’s stories,” said Wilson at her Salt Lake City campaign headquarters on Friday.

Wilson believes Romney’s video didn’t grasp the hardships many Utahns actually face, like living paycheck to paycheck.

“It was evident in the very well-produced video that came out today that he hasn’t been to the 29 counties. I chuckle a little and think, you know, he tried pretty hard to become a Utahn today and even saying ‘my state’ didn’t seem natural to him,” she said.

Wilson said she looks forward to debating Romney.

The Federal Election Commission lists five other candidates besides Wilson also planning to contest this Senate Seat including Democrat Mitchell Vice and Libertarian Craig Bowden.

Related: Mitt Romney launches senate campaign