POLITICO Arena asks: Mitt Romney has won the Illinois primary by a considerable margin. Does this win make the path to the Republican nomination any clearer? And does it provide a more obvious signal for either Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich to exit the race?
BENJAMIN: Tonight, Mitt Romney clearly solidified his insurmountable lead in the race to 1144. He will be the probable GOP presidential nominee but that should not discourage Rick Santorum and Rep. Ron Paul from continuing their pursuit of the nomination.
They rightly believe that Romney does not represent the views of the party’s conservative and libertarian base. Romney continues to win urban and suburban Republican votes but remains unable to win over the rural and exurban Republican voter. The base clearly is not excited by Mitt Romney no matter his embrace of everything from trees to defunding Planned Parenthood to liking grits and gravy.
Did I forget Newt? As we can tell from tonight’s results and a string of similar outcomes,so have Republican primary voters.
Do you think Santorum, Paul and Gingrich should concede the nomination to Mitt Romney?
