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With Wisconsin Win, Romney Moves From 'Likely' To 'Almost Certain'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney celebrated last night with supporters in Milwaukee.
Scott Olson
/
Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney celebrated last night with supporters in Milwaukee.

His wins Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Maryland and — most importantly — in Wisconsin has produced a subtle shift in the way Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is being referred to by the news media.

For weeks he's been called the "likely" nominee, and you'll still see that word used in some stories. But on the front page of The Washington Post today, he's the "almost certain" Republican standard bearer. Politico says Romney will be President Obama's "eventual" opponent. According to The New York Times, Tuesday "was in some respects the start of the general election," because the president and Romney have set their sights on each other.

Now, Republican contender Rick Santorum isn't giving up. As Eyder reported last evening, the former Pennsylvania senator says it's still only "half-time" in the GOP race.

But with Romney continuing to add to his delegate lead, the news media appear to be signaling that for them, at least, the GOP race is all-but-over and it's time to focus on November.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.