Just following up on Tuesday’s results in Republican primary contests that took place in the northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. As expected, and especially with Rick Santorum having abandoned the race, Mitt Romney swept all five states, besting Newt Gingrich 68 percent to 10 percent in Connecticut, Gingrich 57 percent to 27 percent in Delaware, Ron Paul 63 percent to 15 percent in New York, Santorum 58 percent to 18 percent in Pennsylvania and Paul 63 percent to 24 percent in Rhode Island.
All pretty convincing, and as senior Romney advisor Robert O’Brien noted to me, effectively sealing the deal for Romney.
“Tuesday night, Gov. Romney became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for president of the United States…(And Wednesday) Speaker Gingrich called Gov. Romney to concede the race,” he told me.
So what happens next? O’Brien was upbeat. “After a long primary season, it became clear to GOP voters that Gov. Romney possesses the character and experience to restore American greatness. After four years of a failed experiments at home and abroad, he will focus on promoting American entrepreneurism and fiscal discipline domestically, and will pursue the proven national security policy of peace through strength.”
O’Brien served as U.S. Alternate Representative to the 60th session of the U.N. General Assembly, and was named a senior foreign policy advisor to the Romney campaign last year. I’ll be asking his views on a range of national security and foreign policy issues as the presidential campaign really begins in earnest.