Trump won't be counting on these elected Republicans' votes
By Li Ruikang

On his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump was not fully embraced by the Republican establishment. But the attitudes of most in the party changed as the businessman-turned-politician gained momentum on the trail – the outright rejection evolved into unreserved support.

Still, as well as disenchanted GOP backers like those in the Lincoln Project, a few elected Republicans continue to oppose the sitting president.

Mitt Romney – Senator from Utah

Mitt Romney, a Republican senator from Utah, is first among those critical of Trump.

Perseverant and unequivocal in his disapproval, the 2012 presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor represents a solitary voice within the GOP's top echelons.

His loud and clear slamming of Trump began when the latter was running in 2016. Though not the first among his colleagues to speak out, Romney's words were sharp and harsh. He accused Trump of being a "phony" and a "fraud" and "playing members of the American public for suckers."

Those comments, according to Romney, were made after he felt that Trump's divisive rhetoric was hurting the GOP. Trump's refusal to disavow a former KKK leader's endorsement was the final straw, propelling him to publicly voice his concerns.

After Trump won the election, Romney interviewed for the job of secretary of state but was passed over. He was elected as a senator in 2018, and has since continued his criticism and translated words into action.

His strongest repudiation was to vote in favor of Trump's impeachment. He was not only the lone Republican to do so, but also the first senator to vote to unseat a president from the same party.

Romney has not always disagreed with Trump, backing him on issues which he sees as representing traditional conservative values, but his criticism has provoked the president, who has called the senator a "pompous ass."

Romney has already cast his vote in the presidential election – and he revealed it was not for Trump.

Ben Sasse – Senator from Nebraska

Ben Sasse unleashed a barrage of castigation on the president in a recent telephone town hall with his constituents, audio of which was leaked to the media.

Harshly criticizing Trump's foreign policy and history with women, as well as accusing him of disrespect for human rights and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of the rebuke was a sharp turn for a senator who had largely held his tongue as he sought to win his party's backing for re-election in Nebraska.

Earlier this year, he won the president's endorsement in the Republican primary, and with his re-election all but guaranteed, the senator is no longer holding back.

Sasse, who is expected to be a contender for the party's presidential nomination in 2024, warned of a "Republican bloodbath" in the Senate as a result of Trump's first term.

Lisa Murkowski – Senator from Alaska

Lisa Murkowski has long been one of the more independent voices in the Republican Party, and spoke out when the U.S. was shaken by nationwide unrest over police brutality and racial injustice earlier in 2020.

She went on record saying she has struggled over whether to support the president's re-election, but chose not to mention Trump by name.

The three-term senator's discretion did not hold up Trump's attacks. The president promised to campaign against her if she runs again in two years, and the 2022 Senate race could be a tight one for Murkowski. Her three consecutive election wins to the Senate were with pluralities but not majorities.

Francis Rooney - House Representative from Florida

Francis Rooney is a House Republican known for breaking ranks with his party. An ardent supporter for the fight against climate change, he has backed environmental legislation that only garnered support with Democrats.

He was also among the dozen Republicans who voted against Trump's emergency declarations when the president was trying to get funding for his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Previously the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Rooney has his own take on foreign policy and disagrees strongly with the administration's Middle East approach.

In the impeachment episode, the congressman was the first House Republican to signal openness to the motion. The next day he announced his intention to retire and eventually voted against the charges because he believed the evidence was insufficient.

The retiring congressman did not stop making comments about Trump, however. In a more blunt fashion, Rooney has also blasted Trump's handling of COVID-19 and said he may vote for Joe Biden because the president was "driving us all crazy," breaking yet again with those Republicans who reject Trump but shunning away from endorsing Biden.

Acknowledging that such remarks would invite criticism from die-hard supporters, Rooney said, in an interview with USA Today, that it didn't bother him and that they "needed to be said by somebody."

Phil Scott – Governor of Vermont

Vermont Governor Phil Scott is another Republican who has publicly divested from the president's re-election campaign. While not going as far as Rooney in voicing support for Biden, Scott said in August that he would not be voting for Trump.

A longtime political heavyweight in Vermont, Scott won the gubernatorial election in 2016 and is running for reelection in 2020. He has won high marks on his COVID-19 response, and has explicitly denounced Trump's coronavirus record.

Scott also pushed for the impeachment inquiry against Trump, making him the first Republican governor to support the charges. Accusing Trump of "abusing power" and being "not fit in office," Scott has repeatedly questioned the president's leadership.

Larry Hogan – Governor of Maryland

By rejecting Trump, Larry Hogan has earned himself the image of a pragmatist unaffected by stiff ideologies and partisan alignment. The two-term governor of a longtime blue state, Hogan is often portrayed as a "reasonable Republican."

His clashes with the president revolved around almost all controversial policies that have been implemented in the past four years, and that has set the stage for his presidential ambitions.

"A big part of what I've been focusing on for six years is a kind of a bigger tent message and avoiding the divisive rhetoric and avoiding the extremes of either party," he told the Guardian.

The Republican rising star considered challenging Trump for the Republican nomination but eventually gave up. Nonetheless, he may be a candidate in 2024. Hogan did not vote for Trump in 2016, and said he "voted for Ronald Reagan" in this year's election.

Charlie Baker – Governor of Massachusetts

Like his fellow Trump critics within the GOP, Charlie Baker can't stand the nation's division. When he was asked to describe Trump in three words during a gubernatorial debate, "outrageous, disgraceful and a divider" were the words he chose.

Baker shares some similarities with Hogan. He is also a blue state governor who has won re-election once. Not only can he win Democratic support but he has also been able to keep Republicans in line while criticizing the president. The approach Baker has taken to pronounce his disapproval of Trump is carefully engineered in order not to upset others among his ranks.

Baker also did not vote for Trump in 2016 and confirmed he won't next week. The shrewd governor is also seen as a prospective candidate for the 2024 election.