Romney Offers Explanation for Loss - Republican Says Presidential Campaign Didn't Do Good Enough Job Connecting With Minority Voters

From The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Romney garnered 27% of the Hispanic vote, compared with the 31% that Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) got in his 2008 presidential run and the 44% that Republican President George W. Bush received in 2004, according to national exit polls. Mr. Romney received 6% of the African-American vote.

Mr. Romney said he underestimated the appeal of President Barack Obama's health-care law to minority voters. And he argued his party must do more to bring such voters into the GOP fold, suggesting the challenge was one of outreach rather than party platform.

"We've got to do a better job taking our message to them to help them understand why we're the party with the ideas that will make their life better," he said.

Mr. Romney expressed remorse over comments he made during the campaign in which he argued that 47% of Americans saw themselves as "victims" who are dependent on government, and therefore would vote for Mr. Obama. The remarks were secretly recorded during a private dinner where Mr. Romney was addressing donors.

It was "a very unfortunate statement that I made," he said. "It was very harmful. What I said is not what I believe."