Mitt Romney: Democrats bungled and botched 2024

Retiring Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said he was astonished how badly Democrats misread the electorate in the 2024 elections.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview that aired Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," Romney said, "I look at this last election. Uh, I shake my head as I look at our Democrat friends. How could they have so badly misread the public mood?"

Romney, who in 2012 was the last Republican presidential nominee other than Donald Trump, cited inflation — "Do you not see what people are seeing when they go to the grocery store?" — as something Democrats did not recognize as a big problem for Americans. He also mentioned immigration and gender issues as other areas where he thought President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party did not accurately gauge public perceptions and feelings.

"The Democrats have badly misread the direction of the country and the attitude of the country," he said. "And President Trump took advantage of that, as well he should."

He saw trouble ahead for the Democratic Party.

"Look, the Republican Party has become the party of the working class, middle class voter, and you've got to give Donald Trump credit for having done that," he told host Jake Tapper. "Taking that away from the Democrats."

The 77-year-old opted not to run for another term in the Senate; Republican Rep. John Curtis won the open seat. Romney gave a farewell speech on the Senate on Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell praised his "long and honorable career on the national political stage."

Romney has been one of the Republicans most critical of Trump over the last decade. Speaking to Tapper, Romney declined to say who he voted for this year for president.

"There's a wonderful thing we have in this country," he told Tapper, "which is the secret ballot. So I'm not telling you who I voted for in 2024."