Though Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is retiring at the end of his current term, he remains seemingly intent on politically speaking out.
In a recent interview for CBS, he indicated to journalist Norah O’Donnell that he’d vote for a Democrat over Donald Trump in the general election for the 2024 presidential race, though he did not specify that he’d back Biden. “I’d be happy to support virtually any one of the Republicans — maybe not Vivek — but the others that are running would be acceptable to me, and I’d be happy to vote for them,” Romney said. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is among the likely ill-fated candidates in the currently unfolding GOP presidential primary. None of the contenders trying to take the pending nomination in place of Trump have lately come anywhere near him in polling, generally speaking.
“I’d be happy to vote for a number of the Democrats too,” Romney added, as The Hill highlighted. “It would be an upgrade, in my opinion, from Donald Trump and perhaps also from Joe Biden.”
Polling and other factors suggest at this stage that the most likely outcome is Trump and Biden facing each other again in next year’s election. Though a small number of Dems have announced presidential primary campaigns ostensibly challenging the incumbent, they’re not polling well either.
Additionally, Trump for now faces no promise of imminent incapacitation (like incarceration) from one of his four criminal cases or any other legal matter, though that possibility will linger. He is slated to face trial in his January 6-related case from Special Counsel Jack Smith in March, with the federal trial on classified documents allegations coming sometime after that point. There is not yet scheduling for his Georgia criminal trial, and the New York state trial on business recordkeeping charges seems likely to be moved.
