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For all of his denunciations of Trump, Mitt Romney has so far not engaged with outreach from the Harris team & resisted pressure from Republican officials associated w the Democrat’s campaign who want him to officially back her. With ⁦@LACaldwellDC⁩: https://t.co/mud6vuDWN5

— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) September 27, 2024

 “People know where I stand on Donald Trump, and that’s enough”

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 Romney has similarly questioned the potential impact of an endorsement. But he also worries that backing a Democratic candidate would hurt his ability to be a credible conservative voice going forward and has expressed an unwillingness to publicly betray his policy convictions by endorsing someone he fundamentally disagrees with on an ideological level, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

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 A GOP operative, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid, dismissed the idea that Republican endorsements for a Democrat aren’t impactful, arguing that some voters on the right still relied on the “permission structure” to provide an emotional or psychological justification for those who might otherwise have reservations about voting for Harris. The operative said that especially in an election that will probably be extremely close, Romney could make a difference in a key swing state like Michigan, where he was born and his father served as governor.

“Romney already doesn’t have much influence inside today’s Republican Party,” the operative added. “But just because he isn’t shaping the party’s direction now doesn’t mean he won’t be able to down the line … The effort to reposition the party will be a long, long ordeal.”