Washington, D.C.-Mitt Romney claimed victory in the Republican presidential nominating contest Tuesday after decisively sweeping five East Coast primaries, saying his triumph marked "the beginning of the end of the disappointments of the Obama years."
?
Mr. Romney gave what amounted to an acceptance speech for the nomination, as he was projected the winner of primaries in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
"After 43 primaries and caucuses?I can say with confidence?and gratitude?that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility," Mr. Romney told a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire.
?
"A better America begins tonight," he said.
?
Mr. Romney won solid majorities in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York, incomplete returns showed, and had garnered more than 60% of the vote in Connecticut and Rhode Island, where more than four-fifths of the vote had been counted.
?
The former Massachusetts governor can't amass the delegates needed to clinch the nomination until next month, but he effectively wrapped up the contest two weeks ago when his chief rival, former Sen. Rick Santorum, dropped out of the race.
?
Mr. Santorum, who hasn't endorsed Mr. Romney, expects to sit down with the presumed GOP nominee on May 4, John Brabender, Mr. Santorum's chief strategist, said.
?
Two competitors to Mr. Romney remain in the race?Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But it is unclear how long they will hang on. Mr. Gingrich had campaigned hard in Delaware in hopes of a win that would revive interest in his candidacy, and he had indicated he would reassess his plans if he lost.
?
Mr. Romney traveled to New Hampshire?a battleground in the fall, and where he opened his presidential campaign, in June 2011?to deliver his speech lambasting Mr. Obama and essentially declaring the end of the primary contest.
?
"To all of the thousands of good and decent Americans I've met who want nothing more than a better chance, a fighting chance?to all of you, I have a simple message: Hold on a little longer," he was to say.
?
The president, too, sharpened his campaign arguments Tuesday, focusing on energizing college students and other young people who are part of his political base. Mr. Obama called on Congress to block an impending increase in interest rates on new federally subsidized student loans.
?
Though Mr. Gingrich's campaign is more than $4 million in debt, and winning a majority of delegates is beyond his reach, he had vowed to stay in the race until the GOP convention in August to keep conservative pressure on Mr. Romney. The former speaker told reporters before the polls closed Tuesday that he considered it "insulting" that Mr. Romney was planning a speech inaugurating the general-election campaign.
?
Mr. Paul has trailed in the delegate count but has shown no sign of ending his campaign, which has been fueled by young activists and supporters with a libertarian bent.
The states voting on Tuesday will send more than 230 delegates to the convention, but only 150 were to be awarded to the candidates as a result of the election results.
?
The allocation of delegates from Pennsylvania will be difficult to determine. Voters there selected 59 delegates by voting directly for them on the ballot, but the ballot didn't say which candidate each delegate intended to support.
According to an Associated Press tally, Mr. Romney headed into Tuesday's balloting with 698 delegates; Mr. Santorum has won 260; Mr. Gingrich 137; and Mr. Paul, 75. Mr. Romney is likely to emerge from Tuesday's voting with more than 800 delegates. Some 1,144 are needed for the nomination.
Fourteen states have yet to hold their Republican primaries.
?
Mr. Romney's remarks Tuesday didn't indicate a major overhaul of his stump speech, which has for weeks framed the election around Mr. Obama's record while touting Mr. Romney's plans to revive the economy.
?
Romney aides say the biggest shift now may be that more voters are tuning in to the campaign. "Now that we have this one-on-one contest, voters are going to be paying closer attention to the differences between the two men," an adviser said.
?
The mechanics of the general-election Romney machine are already in the works. The Romney campaign has established a joint fundraising effort with the Republican National Committee and is in the process of a rapid expansion that is expected to grow the staff to roughly 400 from 100 during the primaries. New staff members will join the core team in Boston as well as fan out to battleground states.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন