Following Mitt Romney's Republican primary win in Utah for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch, there was immediate discussion over the unusual role the 2016 Republican presidential nominee could play in the Senate.
"He'll be a major player from Day One, like [Democrat] Hubert Humphrey and [Republican] Barry Goldwater after they returned to the Senate," former national Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R.-Va., told Newsmax.
Davis was voicing what a widely held notion about the former Massachusetts governor. Like fellow presidential nominees-turned-freshman Sens. Goldwater and Humphrey, Romney, 71, would take office with built-in recognition and clout if he wins in November.
The question is whether Romney would emerge as a Republican opposition leader to President Donald Trump or whether he plays the role of "great compromiser" between White House and Senate.
Dan Schnur, political scientist and former Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, told Newsmax: "Romney can provide an alternative to Trump for mainstream conservatives on some things, but he's going to have to be careful how he picks his spots. Those who want him to be a 'Never Trump' type are going to be very disappointed."
After years of very visible animosity between Trump and Romney, the Utah Senate hopeful recently penned an op-ed in the Salt Lake City Tribune saying: "I will support the president's policies when I believe they are in the best interest of Utah and the nation. I have noted, the first year of his administration has exceeded my expectations; he made our corporate tax code globally competitive, worked to reduce unnecessary regulations and restored multiple use on Utah public land. In addition, I am pleased that he backed away from imposing a 35 percent tariff on all foreign goods."
Veteran Republican political consultant Marc Rotterman of North Carolina is not as certain about Romney as a prospective Trump allyi
"Romney is a maverick in the mold of John McCain and John Kasich," said Rotterman, "Automatically he'll be a talk show regular on TV as right out of central casting and the main stream press will gravitate toward him because at times he'll be a thorn in the side of President Trump."
Rotterman predicted that Romney "will be reliable on conservative fiscal issues, but speak his mind on foreign policy and trade."
Whether Romney will be able to move major legislation, he added, "Is an open question and only time will tell if he'll be an impact player in the Senate."
"Romney could become a leader on a targeted cluster of issues," Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, told us, "The danger for him is that the establishment press will assume he is John McCain and despite any wish of his he will only be invited to be on TV when he is in opposition to Trump."
Norquist predicted Romney "will be typecast as a liberal republican and should he refuse the 'honor,' he will be vilified by the press as ungrateful and insincere."
"The danger for Romney is that the establishment press will assume he is John McCain and despite any wish of his he will only be invited to be on TV when he is in opposition to Trump. He has a tough six years ahead of him."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.