In a move that may come as a surprise to some members of his own party, Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is apparently running for re-election in 2024.

According to the Washington Examiner, Romney filed a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) this week.

Romney chief of staff says he has yet to make a final decision

The filing permits Romney to raise money as well as make campaign expenditures. Yet despite the move, he still has yet to formally enter next year's race.

"No new decision or announcement to share, and as the Senator has said, he will make a final decision in the coming months," Romney chief of staff Liz Johnson was quoted as telling the Examiner. She added, "In the meantime, we’re ensuring he’s well prepared to run if he chooses."

The Examiner noted that Romney offered reporters a similar message about his plans in February, saying, "I’ll make that assessment over the coming months, and sometime in the spring or summer, I’ll make that decision."

The freshman lawmaker went on to say that he is "confident" of his ability to win a second term, insisting, "I’ll have the resources, and I believe the people of Utah would be with me."

More Democrats than Republicans want Romney to run again

However, the results of a recent poll published earlier this month by O.H. Predictive Insights would appear to cast doubt on that assessment.

The survey was carried out from March 14 to March 23 among 600 Utah registered voters and its margin of error is plus or minus 4%.

Among its findings is that Romney seems to be more popular among Democrats in Utah than he is with Republican voters.

Just 36% of Republicans expressed a desire to see Romney pursue another term in office compared with 47% of Democrats who would like him to run again.

Quarter of Utah Republicans have "very" unfavorable view of Romney

Meanwhile, 25% of Republicans regard him "very" unfavorably while another 22% have a "somewhat" unfavorable opinion of Romney.

That stands in sharp contrast to how the senator is seen by Democrats, only 8% of whom have a "very" unfavorable view of the senator.

Mike Noble is chief of research at O.H. Predictive Insights and he said that "Romney has seemed to age backward throughout his political career."

"Ten years ago, he was the nominee for President and the standard-bearer of the GOP; now, he can barely muster a third of his own party’s support for a re-election bid," Noble pointed out.