MITT Romney has tightened his grip on the US presidential nomination with a triple primary win.
Mr Romney trained his sights on US President Barack Obama as his flagging Republican rivals vowed to fight on.
Mr Romney thumped main rival Rick Santorum in Maryland and the US capital Washington DC on Tuesday, and won a tighter but more important race in Wisconsin, in a pivotal night for the party's frontrunner.
"We won them all! This really has been quite a night," Mr Romney told supporters in Wisconsin, where he won by nearly five percentage points.
"We've won a great victory tonight in our campaign to restore the promise of America," he said.
Mr Romney's opponents remained undaunted, however, with Mr Santorum insisting the Republican race to see who will challenge US President Barack Obama in November was merely at "halftime."
Mr Santorum, a Christian conservative and staunch opponent of abortion and gay marriage, has said he will carry on at least into May, when primaries are held in more conservative states seen as friendlier to his candidacy.
"The clock starts tonight," Mr Santorum told supporters in his home state of Pennsylvania, which votes later in April.
"We've got three weeks to go out here in Pennsylvania and win this state. And after winning this state, the field looks a little different in May," he said, as his campaign announced a series of events in the state to be held yesterday.
But Mr Santorum must feel the sting of a loss in Wisconsin, where he campaigned heavily over the last week. With nearly 100 per cent of precincts reporting, Mr Romney had 43 per cent of the vote to Mr Santorum's 38 per cent.
Mr Santorum virtually ignored the other two contests in the hope of snagging a victory in the Midwest, where the arch-conservative opponent of abortion and gay marriage has fared far better than in the more moderate Northeast.
Mr Romney won 49 per cent to Mr Santorum's 29 per cent in Maryland and dominated with 70 per cent in Washington, DC, with former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul trailing far behind in all three contests.
The trifecta put Mr Romney more than halfway to the magic number of 1144 delegates needed to be crowned the Republican flag-bearer at the party's national convention in Tampa, Florida in August.
Tuesday appeared to mark the start of a new phase in Mr Romney's campaign, as he turns his full attention to challenging Mr Obama in November.
He is already acting like the nominee, training his political fire on Mr Obama's "government-centered society" and no longer mentioning his Republican rivals on the campaign trail.
Mr Obama also appeared to step into campaign mode on Tuesday, rebuking Mr Romney by name in a speech and calling him to account for supporting a "radical" budget passed by congressional conservatives last week.
Mr Obama accused Mr Romney of championing cutthroat "social Darwinism" that neglects the middle class and favors the wealthy, and said the Republican candidate is seeking to institute such a budget on "day one of his presidency."
Mr Romney fired back, signaling his eagerness to square off with Mr Obama.
"There's no question that under this president, this recovery has been the most tepid, the most weak, the most painful since the beginning of our recorded economic history," Mr Romney said on the Sean Hannity radio show.
Mr Romney must still overcome skepticism from conservatives, who fear that the ex-governor of liberal Massachusetts will tack to the left once he wins the nomination in order to appeal to independents.
That scenario is fodder for Mr Santorum, who has tapped into conservative angst about the frontrunner by comparing Mr Romney to Mr Obama.
But exit poll data from Maryland suggests Mr Romney may be turning a corner with lower-income Americans and the most conservative of voters, people Mr Santorum has counted on throughout the campaign.
Prominent Romney supporter Tim Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, did not call on Mr Santorum or Mr Gingrich to drop out, but said the nominations race "for all practical purposes is over."
"Let's face it. Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee," he said.
But Linda Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College, expected the race to carry on nevertheless.
"With Pennsylvania a couple weeks away, I can't imagine Santorum wouldn't hang on to run in his home state," said Ms Fowler.
Mr Romney has now won 24 out of 37 contests and amassed some 625 delegates of the 1144 needed, according to a tally by website RealClearPolitics.
Mr Santorum has racked up 11 victories and has well under half Mr Romney's delegate count.
Mr Romney trained his sights on US President Barack Obama as his flagging Republican rivals vowed to fight on.
Mr Romney thumped main rival Rick Santorum in Maryland and the US capital Washington DC on Tuesday, and won a tighter but more important race in Wisconsin, in a pivotal night for the party's frontrunner.
"We won them all! This really has been quite a night," Mr Romney told supporters in Wisconsin, where he won by nearly five percentage points.
"We've won a great victory tonight in our campaign to restore the promise of America," he said.
Mr Romney's opponents remained undaunted, however, with Mr Santorum insisting the Republican race to see who will challenge US President Barack Obama in November was merely at "halftime."
Mr Santorum, a Christian conservative and staunch opponent of abortion and gay marriage, has said he will carry on at least into May, when primaries are held in more conservative states seen as friendlier to his candidacy.
"The clock starts tonight," Mr Santorum told supporters in his home state of Pennsylvania, which votes later in April.
"We've got three weeks to go out here in Pennsylvania and win this state. And after winning this state, the field looks a little different in May," he said, as his campaign announced a series of events in the state to be held yesterday.
But Mr Santorum must feel the sting of a loss in Wisconsin, where he campaigned heavily over the last week. With nearly 100 per cent of precincts reporting, Mr Romney had 43 per cent of the vote to Mr Santorum's 38 per cent.
Mr Santorum virtually ignored the other two contests in the hope of snagging a victory in the Midwest, where the arch-conservative opponent of abortion and gay marriage has fared far better than in the more moderate Northeast.
Mr Romney won 49 per cent to Mr Santorum's 29 per cent in Maryland and dominated with 70 per cent in Washington, DC, with former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul trailing far behind in all three contests.
The trifecta put Mr Romney more than halfway to the magic number of 1144 delegates needed to be crowned the Republican flag-bearer at the party's national convention in Tampa, Florida in August.
Tuesday appeared to mark the start of a new phase in Mr Romney's campaign, as he turns his full attention to challenging Mr Obama in November.
He is already acting like the nominee, training his political fire on Mr Obama's "government-centered society" and no longer mentioning his Republican rivals on the campaign trail.
Mr Obama also appeared to step into campaign mode on Tuesday, rebuking Mr Romney by name in a speech and calling him to account for supporting a "radical" budget passed by congressional conservatives last week.
Mr Obama accused Mr Romney of championing cutthroat "social Darwinism" that neglects the middle class and favors the wealthy, and said the Republican candidate is seeking to institute such a budget on "day one of his presidency."
Mr Romney fired back, signaling his eagerness to square off with Mr Obama.
"There's no question that under this president, this recovery has been the most tepid, the most weak, the most painful since the beginning of our recorded economic history," Mr Romney said on the Sean Hannity radio show.
Mr Romney must still overcome skepticism from conservatives, who fear that the ex-governor of liberal Massachusetts will tack to the left once he wins the nomination in order to appeal to independents.
That scenario is fodder for Mr Santorum, who has tapped into conservative angst about the frontrunner by comparing Mr Romney to Mr Obama.
But exit poll data from Maryland suggests Mr Romney may be turning a corner with lower-income Americans and the most conservative of voters, people Mr Santorum has counted on throughout the campaign.
Prominent Romney supporter Tim Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, did not call on Mr Santorum or Mr Gingrich to drop out, but said the nominations race "for all practical purposes is over."
"Let's face it. Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee," he said.
But Linda Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College, expected the race to carry on nevertheless.
"With Pennsylvania a couple weeks away, I can't imagine Santorum wouldn't hang on to run in his home state," said Ms Fowler.
Mr Romney has now won 24 out of 37 contests and amassed some 625 delegates of the 1144 needed, according to a tally by website RealClearPolitics.
Mr Santorum has racked up 11 victories and has well under half Mr Romney's delegate count.
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