WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney said Sunday that until late into the evening on Election Day 2012, he thought he was going to win the presidency.
"By 8 or 9 o'clock, it was clear that we were not going to win," Romney told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."
In his first television interview since that loss, Romney reflected on almost all facets of the campaign, not just the night the White House slipped from his grasp. Below, some other takeaways from the interview:
Asked about the "47 percent" video that helped sink his presidential candidacy, Mitt said he'd been misunderstood. "It was a very unfortunate statement that I made," he said. "It's not what I meant ... What I said is not what I believe." He also acknowledged the toll it took on his candidacy: "That hurt, there is no question that hurt and did some real damage to my campaign."
Romney still opposes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, telling Wallace he does not support an idea put forward by the "Gang of Eight" senators to allow provisional status. "People who have come here illegally should not be given a path to permanent citizenship just because they have come here illegally," he said.
Republicans need to do a better job of bringing minority voters to their side, Romney added, when asked about the future of the GOP. But nobody in the party, he joked, is going to listen to the guy who lost.
As for Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent snub by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) -- who, in the days after the storm, praised President Barack Obama -- that wasn't why he lost, said Romney. "I lost my election because of my campaign, not because of what anyone else did," he said. "I see my mistakes and I see my flaws, and I did better this time than I did the time before."
Romney criticized Obama over the sequester, hinting that he would have accepted a 10-1 spending-cuts-to-tax-hikes deal. "It kills me not to be there in the White House doing what needs to be done," he said. "The hardest thing about losing is watching this critical moment, this golden moment slip away with politics."
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a rally with Senator Marc Rubio, former Governor Jeb Bush and Congressman Connie Mack at Landmark Aviation in Tampa, Florida on October 31, 2012.
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks with members of the traveling press aboard his campaign plabe on November 6, 2012 en route to Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a rally with his wife Ann at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, on November 5, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a rally at Orlando Sanford international airport in Orlando, Florida on November 5, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, accompanied by his wife Ann Romney holds a rally at Portsmouth International Airport in Newington, New hampshire, on November 3, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters during a campaign rally at Screen Machines Industries on November 2, 2012 in Etna, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a rally at Landmark Aviation in Tampa, Florida on October 31, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at Avon Lake High School on October 29, 2012 in Avon Lake, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at the Reno Event Center on October 24, 2012 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at Jet Machine on October 25, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney holds a campaign rally at Reno Event Center in Reno, Nevada on October 24, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney hold a campaign rally at Red Rock Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on October 23, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at Henderson Pavillion on October 23, 2012 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during the third and final presidential debate with U.S. President Barack Obama at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, on October 22, 2012. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann greet supporters at the end of the third and final presidential debate against US President Barack Obama, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, October 22, 2012. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann greet members of the public after the end of the third and final presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, October 22, 2012. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney debate on October 16, 2012 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) listens to Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney on October 16, 2012 during the second of three presidential debates at Hofstra University in Hempstead, (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks on stage during a town square rally on October 12, 2012 in Lancaster, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers remarks during a victory rally in Lancaster, Ohio, October 12, 2012. (JIM WATSON/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers remarks during a victory rally in Lancaster, Ohio on October 12, 2012. (JIM WATSON/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers remarks at a victory rally in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, October 9, 2012.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks in the rain during a rally in Newport News, Virginia, on October 8, 2012. (JIM WATSON/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks in the rain during a rally in Newport News, Virginia, on October 8, 2012. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally on October 6, 2012 in Apopka, Florida. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event on October 5, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally on October 5, 2012 in Abingdon, Virginia. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally on October 5, 2012 in Abingdon, Viriginia. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during his debate with U.S. President Barack Obama at Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado on October 3, 2012. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GettyImages)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during his debate with U.S. President Barack Obama at Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, October 3, 2012. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/GettyImages)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney debates on October 3, 2012 in Denver, Colorado, at the start of the first of three presidential debates. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, on October 1, 2012. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, on October 1, 2012. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets supporters during a campaign rally at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, on October 1, 2012. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks to journalists about his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board his campaign plane on September 28, 2012. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages)
Republican U.S. presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks during a rally at Valley Forge Military Academy and College September 28, 2012 in Wayne, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)
Republican U.S. presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks during a rally at Valley Forge Military Academy and College September 28, 2012 in Wayne, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at SeaGate Convention Centre on September 26, 2012 in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally September 25, 2012 at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally September 25, 2012 at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally as vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan gives the thumbs-up on September 25, 2012 at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a fundraiser at the Grand Del Mar Court resort September 22, 2012 in San Diego, California.(MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)
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