Sen. Mitt Romney is among the 220,000 Utahns who have already cast his ballot and, not surprisingly, he did not vote for President Donald Trump.
Romney talking to CNN’s Manu Raju on Wednesday wouldn’t say who he voted for, though.
This should not be a surprise. Romney did not vote for Trump in 2016, writing in his wife’s name instead. However, this time Romney would not say if he voted for Joe Biden or wrote in another name.
Romney’s ballot will surely be the latest thing to enrage some of Trump’s more die-hard supporters in Utah. But will he pay a political price for it?
Right now Romney is polling behind Trump in the state. Trump has a 53% favorable rating among Utahns according to recent polling, while Romney sits at 45%, which is also behind Sen. Mike Lee who has a 48% favorable rating. Romney won’t have to face voters until 2024, if he decides to run for reelection.
Romney, who voted to boot Trump from office during his impeachment trial, has often been at odds with the president. Recently he criticized Trump for refusing to condemn the fringe QAnon conspiracy theory. He also bemoaned the current lack of civility in politics, but managed to cast blame on Democrats as well.
Despite breaking with Trump, Romney is holding fast to Republican orthodoxy. Liberals held out hope that Romney would oppose the rushed appointment and confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, but he said last week he would vote to confirm her nomination.
