Mitt Romney has been called the winner of Tuesday's Republican primary in Texas, officially putting the former Massachusetts governor over the top in his quest to land the GOP's presidential nomination.
The nomination has been a foregone conclusion for weeks, since Romney has been the GOP's presumptive nominee with no active competition for the party's nod for the presidential election in November against Barack Obama.
"I am honored that Americans across the country have given their support to my candidacy and I am humbled to have won enough delegates to become the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee," Romney wrote in a prepared statement. "Our party has come together with the goal of putting the failures of the last 31/2 years behind us."
The official nod requires at least 1,144 delegates, which represents a majority.
Heading into the day's action, Romney had 1,074 delegates. Texas congressman Ron Paul was a distant second at 186, followed by former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum with 259 and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich at 141- although those last three have all suspended their campaigns in the face of certain defeat.
There were 155 delegates up for grabs in Texas.
"I have no illusions about the difficulties of the task before us," Romney continued. "But whatever challenges lie ahead, we will settle for nothing less than getting America back on the path to full employment and prosperity. On November 6, I am confident that we will unite as a country and begin the hard work of fulfilling the American promise and restoring our country to greatness."
Primary season winds down on June 5 with contests in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota - and then it comes to an end on June 26 in Utah.
The Republican National Convention is August 27 to 30 in Tampa.
by RTT Staff Writer
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