Mitt Romney announces senate bid in Utah

Mitt Romney has announced he is running for the US senate seat in Utah in a move that could cause significant divisions within Donald Trump's Republican Party.

Mr Romney, who was the party's presidential candidate in 2012, has regularly criticised the US president's conduct and inflammatory remarks.

He announced his senate bid with a dig at Mr Trump's immigration proposals, saying Utah  "welcomes legal immigrants from around the world - Washington sends immigrants a message of exclusion".

"I have decided to run for United States senate because I believe I can help bring Utah's values and Utah's lessons to Washington," he said in his video announcement.

Mr Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is expected to win in the Mormon state where he enjoys huge popularity. 

The politician had retreated from national politics after losing the 2012 election to Barack Obama but he has recently returned to the spotlight to be a vocal critic of Mr Trump.

He has previously hit out at the president for running a presidential campaign based on “racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia … and violence.”

Mr Romney is running to replace retiring Republican senator Orrin Hatch, who is a close ally of Mr Trump. 

The president struggled to gain support in Utah, a traditionally Republican state, where more people there voted against him (48 percent) than for him (45 percent).