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Romney outruns Santorum

April 4, 2012

Three primary ballots have thrust the more moderate Republican Mitt Romney further into the lead ahead of his party's Florida convention in August that will pick a challenger to US President Barack Obama.

https://p.dw.com/p/14XMJ
Romney raises his right arm in greeting at a supporters' rally in Wisconsin. Hanging behind him is a large US stars and stipes flag.
Image: AP

Republican Mitt Romney has notched three pivotal primaries, notably in Wisconsin, but his more conservative rival Rick Santorum said it is merely "halftime" and he will carry on campaigning.

US media projections from Tuesday's three Republican primaries put Romney on 42 percent in Wisconsin, 47 percent in Maryland, and 70 percent in Washington D.C.. Santorum scored 38 percent and 29 percent in Wisconsin and Maryland respectively, while he was not on the ballot in the nation's capital.

Returns for two other Republican hopefuls, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, panned out in the 10 to 12 percent bracket.

Obama and Romney exchange barbs

Democrat Obama rebuked Romney by name for the first time in the electoral warm-up on Tuesday while blasting a budget plan passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Obama accused the ex-governor of Massachusetts of championing "social Darwinism" that neglected the middle class and favored the wealthy. Obama's re-election campaign team has also aired commercials that accuse Romney of siding with "Big Oil" for tax breaks.

Romney in reply said Barack Obama's administration "must do more because the economy is doomed to do less."

Addressing supporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Romney, who's regarded as a centrist by more conservative Republicans, described his hat trick of wins as "quite a night."

Santorum still hopeful

Santorum, who virtually ignored the other two contests to focus on Wisconsin, a Midwest state, said the field could still look different in May. "We've got three weeks to go out here in Pennsylvania," he said, referring to his home state where a Republican primary takes place on April 24.

Republican presidential candidate Santorum holds up a piece of shale as he speaks about fossil fuel
Rick Santorum - Romney's main Republican rivalImage: AP

Santorum, who is a harsh critic of abortion and gay rights, has tapped into conservative angst about Romney as a frontrunner.

In the lead-up to the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida in August, Romney has amassed some 646 delegates out of the 1,114 needed. Tuesday's results alone handed him at least 74 delegates. Santorum has accummulated 272 delegates; Gingrich 135 and Paul 51.

Whoever wins the Republican ballot must raise hundreds of millions of campaign dollars to take on Obama in the November 6 election. Obama and the Democrats have already raised more than $300 million (220 million euros).

ipj/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)