White House hopeful Mitt Romney set his sights squarely on President Barack Obama after racking up another victory in a plodding Republican nominating race that may not be decided until June.
It’s time to say these words. This word. Enough. We’ve had enough
Mr Romney’s decisive win in Illinois on Tuesday likely won’t help him win Mr Obama’s home state in the November 6 election, but it has brought him closer to clinching the Republican nod.
He used his victory speech to reprise his attacks on Mr Obama’s economic policies and cast the general election as a choice between “economic freedom” and “job-killing regulation”.
“Over the past three years this Administration has been engaged in an all-out assault on our freedom,” Mr Romney told supporters gathered in an affluent Chicago suburb.
“It’s time to say these words. This word. Enough. We’ve had enough.”
Underdog Rick Santorum was unbowed by Mr Romney’s widening lead, rallying supporters in his home state of Pennsylvania to help him “close this gap and (move) on to victory!”
His campaign vowed earlier on Tuesday to take the fight all the way to the Republican convention in August, but it’s not clear if Mr Santorum can stop Mr Romney from winning the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the deal before then.
The former Massachusetts governor already had a commanding delegate lead and Tuesday’s resounding win in this mid-western state will provide Mr Romney with momentum ahead of polls in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, DC on April 3.
It will also provide Mr Romney with a cushion ahead of an expected Santorum victory in Louisiana on Saturday.
But with many states awarding delegates proportionally, it could take Mr Romney until May or June to reach the majority needed to knock his rivals out of the race.
While Mr Romney may have a better chance of winning over the moderates and independents who often decide general elections, he has failed to rally the Republican party’s conservative base in the gruelling state-by-state primaries.
US media exit polls in Illinois showed Mr Romney with a surprisingly solid lead among supporters of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement, however, Mr Santorum was the favourite among evangelicals and the “very conservative”.
A bloody, protracted battle would help Mr Obama and could also cost Republicans congressional, gubernatorial and state-level seats, especially if Mr Romney isn’t able to seal the deal by the time delegate-rich California and four other states hold contests on June 5.
Written off in the early days, Mr Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, has steadily notched up wins − 10 out of 33 contests − largely with the help of evangelicals and the party’s most conservative members.
He aimed to rally those supporters by attacking Mr Romney as an untrustworthy moderate who will say anything to get elected and casting himself as a reliable man of principle on a mission to defend conservative values.
Mr Romney’s only mention of his rivals was a brief congratulations for “a hard-fought contest” as he sought to adopt a more presidential air and stuck close to his script with the help of much-maligned teleprompters.
Prior to the Illinois vote Mr Romney had pocketed 516 delegates, while Mr Santorum had won 236 and former house speaker Newt Gingrich had 141, according to the website Real Clear Politics.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a small-government champion, has about 66.
Mr Santorum’s campaign has been urging Mr Gingrich − who has won just two contests − to drop out in order to consolidate the conservative vote.
Mr Romney had 46.7 per cent of the vote in Illinois with 99 per cent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, while Mr Santorum had 35 per cent, Mr Paul had 9.3 per cent and Mr Gingrich had eight per cent.