Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said Monday that he is considering “just about everything” in deciding whether to run for another six-year term next year. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Hatch to decide on reelection by the end of the year

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Monday that he will make a decision by the end of the year on whether he will run for an eighth term in 2018.

“Right now, I intend to run again. But who knows?” Hatch said in a brief interview on Monday. “By the end of the year, I’ll make that determination.”


Questions about Hatch’s political future flared again Monday following a report from UtahPolicy.com that said former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is preparing a run for Hatch’s seat should the senator retire.

Such speculation has been floating for months, though Hatch said in May that he had spoken to Romney and the former Massachusetts governor would not run for the Senate.

Hatch, 83, said Monday that he is considering “just about everything” in deciding whether to run for another six-year term next year. Despite the recent spate of retirements in the House, no senator has announced this year that he or she will forgo a reelection run next November.