Romney says he didn’t vote for Trump, joining list of Republicans wavering in support

Sen. Mitt Romney said Wednesday he didn’t vote for President Donald Trump, joining other Republicans breaking from their party or questioning their reelection vote.

The Utah senator and the GOP’s 2012 presidential candidate told CNN he already voted, but declined to say for who he voted.

“I did not vote for President Trump,” Romney said.

Romney has diverged from the Republican party and Trump in the past, calling him a “phony” and a “fraud” in the run-up to the 2016 election. Romney voted this year to convict Trump on the first article of impeachment, the first senator to ever vote against his party’s president during an impeachment trial.

Some other Republicans say they too are questioning their support for Trump.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan

Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he wrote in former President Ronald Reagan instead of voting for Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, CBS Baltimore reported.

Hogan criticized Trump for his “inflammatory rhetoric” and his response to the coronavirus pandemic, but he also said he didn’t think Biden was a suitable candidate, according to the news outlet.

Hogan voted for his father, Larry Hogan Sr., a former congressman, in 2016, The Washington Post reported.

Sen. Susan Collins

Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is in the midst of her own reelection fight in Maine, declined to say whether she would vote for Trump when asked by her Democratic challenger Sara Gideon at a debate, The New York Times reported. Collins has repeatedly dodged the question.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she was “struggling” about whether to support Trump in his reelection, CNN reported in June.

“I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time I think you know that. I didn’t support the President in the initial election, and I work hard to try to make sure that I’m able to represent my state well that I’m able to work with any administration and any president,” she said, according to the publication.

Rep. Francis Rooney

Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida slammed Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and said he wasn’t sure who he’s voting for.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that Vice President Biden has the right approach. And there’s a lot of Republicans that would agree with that as well,” Rooney said, Florida Daily reported Tuesday.

“I’m going to study everything the next couple of weeks,” Rooney said. “I’d prefer not to say what it’s going to be, and I want to see what happens.”

Former Gov. John Kasich

Former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who vied for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump in 2016, called for other GOP to abandon Trump at the Democratic National Convention.

“I’m sure there are Republicans and independents who couldn’t imagine crossing over to support a Democrat,” Kasich said, The New York Times reported in August. “They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don’t believe that. Because I know the measure of the man — reasonable, faithful, respectful. And you know, no one pushes Joe around.”