Romney on the campaign trail in March. Photo by Dana Hansen/ Boston University News Service.
With wins yesterday in Wisconsin, DC, and Maryland, Mitt Romney has moved one step closer to becoming the Republican presidential nominee. Rick Santorum mounted a significant effort in Wisconsin, where he lost by 5 percentage points. The final tally in Wisconsin gave Romney 43% of the vote compared to Santorum's 38%. In Maryland, amidst low voter turnout, Romney won 49% of the vote and Santorum won 29%. Romney won big in DC with 70% of the vote; second place went to Ron Paul with 12%. Santorum was not on the ballot in DC.
In his victory speech, Romney set his sights squarely on President Obama, whose re-election campaign recently launched ads targeting the former Massachusetts governor -- signaling a shift in rhetoric that anticipates the two-man race that is soon to come.