Romney builds on big delegate lead

Associated Press

STEPHEN OHLEMACHER,Associated Press

Updated: Apr 25, 2012 4:29 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney added to his big lead in the race for convention delegates Tuesday with a five-state sweep of Republican presidential primaries.

Romney won at least 146 delegates, sweeping all the delegates in New York, Connecticut and Delaware, and all but four in Rhode Island.

A total of 209 delegates were at stake in five states. The status of Pennsylvania's 59 delegates probably won't be known for several days because delegates were elected directly on the ballot and they were not identified by which candidate they support.

Romney had a total of 844 delegates — just 300 shy of the 1,144 delegates it will take to win the Republican nomination to run against President Barack Obama in November. With former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum out of the race, Romney could collect the needed delegates by the end of May.

The other two Republican candidates still in the race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, were far behind. Gingrich had 137 delegates and Paul had 79.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Political Pulse

We welcome your thoughtful comments. Be the first to participate in the discussion. All comments will display your username and avatar.