Mitt Romney Wins Big in Illinois GOP Primary

Mitt Romney wins the GOP primary in Illinois by what is appearing to be a substantial margin over Rick Santorum.

Romney wins big in Illinois

With 27% of the vote counted … the race has been called for Mitt Romney who has 54%, Santorum 30%, Paul 9% and Gingrich last with 7%. Romney was leading in the polls by 10% prior to today’s primary; however, it appears that the margin of victory may be much larger than that. Romney routs Santorum in the industrial state of Illinois.

Front-runner Mitt Romney won the Illinois primary with ease Tuesday night, defeating Rick Santorum in yet another industrial state showdown and padding his already-formidable delegate lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney triumphed after benefitting from a crushing advantage in the television advertising wars, and as his chief rival struggled to overcome self-imposed political wounds in the marathon race to pick an opponent to Democratic President Barack Obama.

The Politico ponders what will a double digit win by Romney in Illinois mean for the GOP primary races to come?

The size of Romney’s victory margin will likely determine how the Illinois vote affects the larger GOP race. Should Romney claim a double-digit victory, it could prompt national Republicans to try more aggressively to conclude an already drawn-out primary season.

A narrower victory would leave Romney in much the same place where he was yesterday: with an unshaken lead in delegates and money, but still bogged down in a trench-war campaign against rivals who simply refuse to quit.

Maybe the comment made by Santorum thatt he doesn’t care about the unemployment rate affected last minute voters? Where he meant to say it or not, they fact he did say it and ignorantly so … maybe Rick is not ready for prime time.