Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Sunday that the results of the presidential election showed that Americans apparently want a change in leadership, but not a “sharp left turn” in policy.
The Utah senator told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that voters communicated a “mixed message,” as the Republican Party picked up seats in the House and has a chance to hold onto Senate control, but lost the presidency.
{mosads}“I think people are saying that conservative principles still account for the majority of public opinion in our country,” he said.
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee told NBC’s Chuck Todd that he doesn’t think Americans approve of progressive policies, such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and getting rid of coal, oil or gas.
“But they do want to see a change in leadership in the White House apparently at this stage,” he said. “And so it’s a message which says, ‘All right, a change in leader,’ but we’re not going to be turning a sharp left turn, in terms of public policy.”
Romney’s comments come after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the victor of the presidential election on Saturday, although President Trump has refused to concede in the race.
The president’s campaign has filed several lawsuits challenging the vote count after Trump spent months spreading false claims that mail-in ballots, used due to the coronavirus pandemic, opened up the election to fraud.
News outlets projected on election night that Democrats would retain control of the House. But as more races were declared, it became clear the party would be operating with a smaller majority in the next session of Congress.
Some moderate Democrats came to the same conclusion as Romney when they slammed the progressive wing of the party in a caucus call last week, blaming the group for costing Democrats seats in Congress.
The Senate is still up for grabs as two Georgia Senate races head to a Jan. 5 runoff. Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) will again face off with Democrat Jon Ossoff, while Rev. Raphael Warnock will compete against Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.).