Republican presidential fight nears its end

Rick Santorum, his closest challenger, will now look ahead to this weekend’s primary vote in the perhaps more welcoming Deep South state of Louisiana in his effort to stop Mr Romney winning the nomination.

The latest win by Mr Romney – which saw him take around 47 per cent – means it is increasingly unlikely any of the other challengers will catch him.

This year’s Republican primary and caucus contest has been bruising and displays the deep division between the party’s conservative base of voters, which has largely backed Mr Santorum, and the party establishment, assembled behind Mr Romney.

“Tonight’s win means we are that much closer to securing the nomination, uniting our party, and taking on President Obama,” Mr Romney wrote in a campaign e-mail. The multi-millionaire former governor of Massachusetts, who made his fortune as a venture capitalist, urged the party to fall in line behind his bid, which has been well financed. Mr Romney outspent Mr Santorum on television advertising by a seven-to-one ratio. Returns from 98 per cent of Illinois precincts showed Mr Romney gaining 47 per cent of the vote to Mr Santorum’s 35 per cent. Texas Representative Ron Paul was third, with 9 per cent. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich slid to fourth, with just 8 per cent.

Mr Romney won the endorsement of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the brother of former president George W Bush, after the results were declared.

“Now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall [autumn], ” Mr Bush said.

He is one of the party’s establishment figures who had been holding off on making an endorsement, but his choice suggested the nominating contest was all but over.

Mr Santorum, a Catholic favoured by religious conservatives, now has almost no hope of overtaking Mr Romney in the count of delegates who will choose the nominee.

A confident Mr Romney yesterday shifted his focus toward the election against Mr Obama, ignoring his rivals in a victory speech to supporters in a Chicago hotel ballroom. He said: “We know what Barack Obama’s vision is. We’ve been living it these last three years. My vision is very, very different.”

Mr Santorum, who hopes to rebound in Saturday’s Louisiana primary after winning two other southern states this month, refused to admit defeat as he spoke to supporters in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“We need someone who has a strong and clear record who can appeal to voters all across this country. Someone you can trust,” he said. “Someone who will stand and fight, not just because it’s what the pollster tells them to say or what is on their teleprompter.”