Mitt Romney’s three primary wins in Maryland, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia on Tuesday night has put him past the halfway mark to reach the 1,144 delegates needed to claim the Republican presidential nomination. According to CNN estimates, with 93 percent of the vote counted in Wisconsin, Romney had 42 percent. Rick Santorum took 38 percent, Ron Paul 12 percent, and Newt Gingrich 6 percent. In Maryland, with 75 percent of the votes reported, Romney grabbed 49 percent, Santorum 29 percent, Gingrich 11 percent, and Paul 10 percent. In the District of Columbia, with 99 percent of the votes counted, Romney took 70 percent, Paul 12 percent, and Gingrich 11 percent. Santorum was not on the D.C. ballot. Although Santorum is far behind Romney, he remains determined to focus on landing the nomination. Santorum and his team have turned their focus to the April 24 primaries that will be held in five states including Pennsylvania, where he once stood as a state senator and where his campaign hopes to gain a win.
Romney made no mention of his GOP opponents in a speech to Milwaukee supports on Tuesday night, but instead focused on President Barack Obama. “This has really been quite a night. We won a great victory tonight in our campaign to restore the promise of America,” the former Massachusetts governor told supporters. “There is a basic choice that we’re going to face: The president has pledged to transform America, and he spent the last four years laying the foundation for a new government-centered society. I will spend the next four years rebuilding the foundation of an opportunity society led by free people and free enterprises.” Romney is expected to take the majority of Wisconsin’s 42 delegates and Maryland’s 37 delegates. He will take all of the delegates from D.C.
