Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Victory for Mitt Romney in Illinois Republican primary

Mitt Romney has won the Republican primary in Illinois, his latest win on the road to decide who will contest November's poll against Barack Obama.
Mr Romney has won 47% of the votes, compared with 35% for Rick Santorum, with nearly all votes counted.
Sending a message to President Obama at a victory party in a suburb of Chicago, Mr Romney said: "We've had enough."
Ron Paul polled 9% in Illinois and Newt Gingrich was on 8%; neither candidate campaigned extensively in the state.
"I'm running for president because I have the experience and the vision to get us out of this mess," said Mr Romney, as his victory became evident.

Delegate totals

05001000
  • Mitt Romney
  • Rick Santorum
  • Newt Gingrich
  • Ron Paul
  • 563
  • 263
  • 135
  • 50
A candidate needs 1,144 delegates to win
Illinois sends 54 delegates to the Republican convention, and Mr Romney hopes to maintain his momentum.
However, Illinois's delegates are not determined by the statewide vote.
Individual delegates are listed on the ballot in each of the state's 18 congressional districts and are identified by the candidate they support.
'Big issue'
Mr Santorum's campaign did not successfully file for the primary ballot in parts of Illinois, meaning he automatically cedes 10 of those delegates.
However, addressing supporters on Tuesday evening, Mr Santorum said he had polled well in Illinois in areas "that conservatives and Republicans populate".

Illinois primary results
SOURCE: AP
Photo: Romney Romney
47%
Photo: Santorum Santorum
35%
Photo: Paul Paul
9%
Photo: Gingrich Gingrich
8%

99% of precincts reporting

"We're very happy about that and we're happy about the delegates we're going to get, too," he said.
The candidates had clashed in Illinois over the economy.
On Monday Mr Santorum had said he "didn't care about the unemployment rate", and told supporters the presidential campaign was about smaller government and winning back individual and social freedom.
Mr Romney jumped on those remarks later in the day, telling students in Peoria, Illinois "one of the people who is running also for the Republican nomination today said that he doesn't care about the unemployment rate".
"It does bother me. I want to get people back to work," Mr Romney said.
Later Mr Santorum told supporters: "The economy is a big issue. Unemployment is a big issue."
'Magic number'
image of Mark MardellAnalysisMark MardellNorth America editor
Romney's victory in Illinois means the gruelling Republican marathon goes on, the candidates straining on towards a finishing line that seems to recede further into the distance with every week that passes.
All logic, all projections, all commentators suggest that in the end he is going to win, that the maths mean he is nearly unbeatable. That "nearly" is the point. Rick Santorum is clearly now Mitt's only serious rival, and while he does not have much of a chance, his hope has not been extinguished.
What is his strategy for eventual victory? Search me. He now has to win just about every prize on offer to pull it off. If he takes Louisiana at the weekend it would boost his confidence -and probably put paid to Newt Gingrich. Results in early April are likely to go Romney's way so the next date that matters is 24 April when five more states vote. That may be a turning point, although perhaps not that elusive finishing line.

Mr Romney won a convincing victory in Puerto Rico's primary over the weekend, amassing 83% of the votes, but lost to Mr Santorum in recent contests in the South.
A candidate needs to accumulate 1,144 delegates to the August convention in order to secure the nomination.
Analysts say the current figures make that an almost impossible task for Mr Santorum, who has spoken openly in recent weeks about winning enough delegates to stop Mr Romney taking the crown.
Such an outcome would lead to a competitive vote at the Tampa convention, in which Mr Santorum feels he could overcome Mr Romney.
Mr Santorum has vowed to continue, "competing in every state", citing tepid support for Mr Romney even in states the former Massachusetts governor has won.
On Monday, Mr Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, said he would "go out and compete in every state".
"I think it's going to be very difficult as this goes on for anybody to get that magic number," Mr Santorum said in an interview with CBS News, adding that chances were increasing of the nomination being decided at the convention.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)