A moderate Republican and an outspoken critic of former President Trump, Romney announced Wednesday that he’ll retire when his first term in the upper chamber ends in 2025, calling for a “new generation of leaders.” His exit likely opens the door for other, more conservative contenders to flood into the contest.

“This is going to be a blockbuster Republican primary election,” said Damon Cann, head of Utah State University’s department of political science. “No doubt about it. We don’t see a lot of open Senate seats in Utah.”

Yet his exit also may be a sign of the changing times in the state, the country and the Republican Party itself.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines (Mont.), who has said establishment Republicans are planning to be more selective and active in recruiting candidates in 2024, said after Romney’s announcement that “we are going to nominate a candidate who will keep Utah red in 2024.”

“The Utah Senate race to replace Sen. Romney will be a case study in the future direction of the party,” said one Republican strategist. “The fact that Romney is retiring after one term in the Senate shows that the old guard of the Republican Party is prepared to step aside for new leadership.”