Is Romney’s Nomination All but Assured?

COMMENTARY | Mitt Romney is riding high. After a resounding victory in the Florida Primary, the former Massachusetts governor seems to be on a collision course with the Republican nomination. The lone challenger is Newt Gingrich, who has dropped back in the pack due to his poor performances at recent debates.

Romney on the other hand, has grown stronger with each primary and he is finally getting the positive media coverage he deserves. While he's not the ideal presidential candidate (nobody truly is), Romney has proven himself to be deserving of the opportunity.

With Florida and New Hampshire already under his belt, Romney is looking strong heading into the remaining Primaries around the country. Gingrich has repeated multiple times that his campaign isn't over, though it would take a massive swing to change the general consensus.

Current polling shows Romney receiving 33 percent of the public's vote to 25 percent for Gingrich, 16 percent for Rick Santorum and 11 percent for Ron Paul. This is a switch from public opinion just a week ago , which had Newt Gingrich over Romney by a single percentage point. The pair of Romney and Gingrich have flip flopped a number of times throughout the campaign, but it's the tangible results that will truly determine the race.

Romney is favored to win a majority of the upcoming primaries and unless he makes a major gaffe those numbers aren't about to change enough to favor Gingrich or any other candidate. Romney merely needs to stay on the straight and narrow to ensure his opportunity to challenge Barack Obama in the 2012 general presidential election. The general election is only nine months away and the Republican's would do well to unify behind a single candidate sooner than later. Any delay would be devastating in their quest to retake the White House.

Romney and Gingrich are the only two candidates able to make a push for the nomination, while Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are essentially wasting their own time. It would be best for the party if Paul and Santorum would drop out and endorse the two front runners. That kind of unity in the party will send a strong message to their democratic competitors.

Romney almost has the nomination in the bag, but only time will tell if that will be the case.

Source: Paul Steinhauser, Will Nevada give Romney a second straight victory?, CNN.com