Romney clinches Republican nomination

Mitt Romney on Wednesday clinched the Republican nomination, winning the Texas primary and securing enough delegates to cross the bench mark of 1,144 necessary to challenge incumbent Barack Obama in November presidential polls.

'We did it!' Romney told his cheering supporters, noting that 'it's only the beginning.'  

65-year-old Romney surpassed the 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination by winning at least 97 delegates in the Texas primary.

'An honour and a privilege and a great responsibility,' Romney said at a fundraiser in Las Vegas. 'And I know the road to 1,144 was long and hard, but I also know that the road to 11-06 - November 6th - is also going to be long and it's going to be hard and it's going to be worth it because we're going to take back the White House and get America right again.' 

However, he said that the job is not done yet.

'Our party has come together with the goal of putting the failures of the last three and a half years behind us. I have no illusions about the difficulties of the task before us,' said Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts.

'But whatever challenges lie ahead, we will settle for nothing less than getting America back on the path to full employment and prosperity. 'On 6 November, I am confident that we will unite as a country and begin the hard work of fulfilling the American promise and restoring our country to greatness,' he said.

Romney would be declared the official nominee of the party at the Republican National Convention to be held in Tampa in the week of 27 August. Romney has also become the first Mormon presidential nominee of a major party. Romney alleged that Obama has failed to fulfill his promises.

'The President, when he got elected, said, I'm going to go and borrow USD 787 billion and I'll keep unemployment below 8 per cent. It has not been below 8 per cent since. There are 23 million Americans who are out of work or stopped looking for work, or only able to get part-time jobs,' he said.