The Nominee  —  It is a mathematical improbability that Rick Santorum will get to the magic number of 1,144 — the number of delegates needed to be the Republican Presidential nominee.  It is a political improbability that Rick Santorum will stop Mitt Romney from getting to 1,144.

Romney Wins by Wide Margin in Illinois Contest  —  CHICAGO — Mitt Romney swept to victory in the Illinois Republican primary on Tuesday, using the full force of his campaign and an argument that he has the best chance of defeating President Obama to overcome doubts among the more conservative voters at the heart of his party.

Romney holds small lead nationally  —  PPP's newest national poll finds that Mitt Romney leads with 34% to 31% for Rick Santorum, 20% for Newt Gingrich, and 9% for Ron Paul.  But if Gingrich dropped out Santorum would have a small lead with 41% to 40% for Romney and 11% for Paul.

Finally, Romney gets tea party support  —  FreedomWorks drops opposition  —  The organization that ignited the tea party as a national mass movement gave Mitt Romney perhaps his biggest victory yet, deciding to drop its opposition to his candidacy, a top executive in the group told The Washington Times.

Top Romney adviser: Mitt will erase his conservative positions once he's the nominee  —  Think Progress flags an amazing exchange on CNN, in which Eric Fehrnstrom, a top adviser to Mitt Romney, seems to confirm that the conservative positions Romney has been forced to take during the primary …

Romney adviser says campaign can start fresh for general election, ‘like an Etch A Sketch’  —  Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom on Wednesday dismissed concern that the nastiness of the GOP primary race could negatively affect the fight to replace President Obama.