Romney clinches nomination with Texas win

Mitt Romney clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a win in the Texas primary, a triumph of endurance for a candidate who fought hard to win over skeptical conservative voters he must now fire up for the campaign against President Barack Obama.               

According to the Associated Press count, Romney surpassed the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination by winning at least 97 delegates in the Texas primary.               

Romney, who came up short in the Republican presidential race four years ago, outlasted a carousel of Republican rivals who dropped out of the state-by-state primary contest. None of his former rivals actively campaigned in Texas.             

The former Massachusetts governor has reached the nomination milestone with a steady message of concern about the U.S. economy, a campaign organization that dwarfed those of his Republican foes and a fundraising operation second only to that of Obama, his Democratic opponent in the general election.              

Romney would be the first Mormon to be nominated for president by a major party. His religion has been less of an issue than it was during his failed bid four years ago.              

Romney must now energize conservatives who still doubt him, while persuading undecided voters that he can do a better job fixing the nation's struggling economy than Obama.          

"We did it!" Romney proclaimed in a message to supporters, noting that "it's only the beginning."   AP