Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told a Utah radio station that he would support Mitt Romney if he decides to enter the race to replace him when he retires at the end of his term.

Said Hatch: “I didn’t call him before I made this announcement, but I did call him a while back and explored with him what he had on his mind, and I won’t discuss what we discussed. But there’s no question that he loves Utah and wants to support Utah anyway he can. And I’m hopeful he’ll run, because he would be just fine. And he would certainly be somebody who I think could succeed me into the job.”

He added: “If Mitt decides to run, he knows he’ll have my support.”