Romney Closes In On GOP Nomination

Romney Closes In On GOP Nomination

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks in Washington.

Mitt Romney is expected to clinch the Republican presidential nomination tonight with a victory in the Texas Republican presidential primary.

Texas has 152 delegates at stake, and Romney is 60 short of the 1,144-delegate majority needed to win the GOP nod, according to the Associated Press.

[Read: Romney Ready to Claim GOP Nomination After Texas]

Romney has been considered the presumptive nominee for weeks as he has continued to win primaries and as his major opponents, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, have dropped out.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is the last serious candidate besides Romney in the GOP race but he is far behind in delegates and isn't expected to come close to Romney in Texas.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has been trading charges and criticisms with President Obama as each one maneuvers for the fall election. Various polls indicate a close race, and some surveys indicate that the two candidates are in a statistical tie.

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Ken Walsh covers the White House and politics for U.S. News. He writes the daily blog "Ken Walsh's Washington" at usnews.com and "The Presidency" column for the U.S. News digital weekly. He can be reached at kwalsh@usnews.com, on Facebook and Twitter.