Romney's base of support among Republican voters includes those who say their top priority is defeating Obama in November. He also does well among Republicans who describe themselves as moderates.
Rick Santorum continues to draw support from religious voters and from Republicans who consider themselves very conservative. He argues that he would offer general election voters a bolder alternative to the president than would Romney.
"They want someone who is not going to go to Washington, D.C. because they want to be the most powerful person in the world to manage Washington," said Santorum. "They want someone who is going to take that power and give it back to the people of this country!"
It takes the support of 1,144 delegates to secure the Republican nomination at the party's nominating convention in Tampa, Florida, in late August.
The latest Associated Press unofficial tally gives Romney more than 560 delegates, more than twice as many as Santorum.
Santorum is favored in the next primary in Louisiana on Saturday, but expert Henry Olsen of the American Enterprise Institute says Romney remains the strong favorite to eventually win the nomination.
"I think right now the way things are going, Mitt Romney just needs to be patient and he's going to be the nominee," noted Olsen.
Some analysts note that Republican voter turnout in the primaries and caucuses this year is down from four years ago. Some party leaders have also expressed concern that the lengthy and divisive primary campaign could hurt Republican chances in November.
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2013-11-25
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2013-11-25