Behind the scenes, though, Hatch’s remark was widely interpreted among Utah politicos as an intentional trial balloon. “That was no accident,” said one senior Republican in the state.

For his part, Romney, who owns a house outside Salt Lake City, appears to be taking the potential Senate bid seriously. In addition to discussing it with Hatch and other party leaders in Utah, sources said Romney has spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. According to two people with knowledge of the conversation, McConnell encouraged Romney to run if Hatch’s seat opens up, and sought to assure the former GOP presidential nominee that he would have more influence in the chamber than a typical junior senator. (A spokesman for McConnell declined to comment; a representative for Romney said he was traveling abroad an unavailable to answer questions for this story.)

Ever since Romney’s 2012 defeat, journalists and pundits have made a parlor game of speculating about his political future, and loyalists in his orbit have long yearned for him to re-enter the fray. But two people close to Romney say he didn’t show a real interest in the Senate race until Jon Huntsman—a former Utah governor and longtime rival—began to consider a bid. Since then, Huntsman has reportedly been tapped for U.S. ambassador to Russia, a post that would take him out of the running. In an interview earlier this year with the Deseret News, Romney said “all doors are open” after mentioning the 2018 Senate race.

If he does decide to run, the campaign would likely be a cakewalk. Romney, who was the first-ever Mormon to secure a major-party presidential nomination, is widely admired in Utah, and voters would likely thrill at the chance to cast another vote for him. “It would be the easiest Senate bid in the history of the United States of America,” Hal Boyd, the Deseret News’ opinion editor, told me.

Even other prospective candidates are enthusiastic about the idea. Derek Miller, the CEO of Utah’s World Trade Center who is exploring a Senate bid of his own, told me he’d abandon his campaign if Romney entered the race. “I hold Mitt Romney in the highest regard. If he decided to run, I’d be out there doing a honk-and-wave for him.”

Why would Romney, who just turned 70, consider abandoning his pleasant and perfectly Instagram-able retirement to run for office now? People close to him say there are several factors pulling him back toward public life.

The most obvious one is Donald Trump’s presidency. During the 2016 campaign, Romney was among the most high-profile—and persistent—Republican critics of Trump, and one of the few national figures in the party who refused to support him until the end. Though his anti-Trump credentials were tarnished by his post-election pursuit of the secretary of state post, sources who have discussed it with Romney say his views on Trump have not changed—and if he did enter the Senate, he would not be a reliable ally to the White House. “It would be an opportunity for Mitt to represent the Utah style of Republicanism … and present a strong challenge to the president,” said one senior Republican.