Romney wins 2 more primaries

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Mitt Romney is adding two more victories to his win column.

Nebraska and Oregon Republicans, as expected, have made clear their preference for the GOP nomination by choosing Romney in Tuesday’s presidential primaries.

In Nebraska, the vote amounts to a beauty contest. The state’s 32 delegates to the Republican National Convention later this year will be determined at the state convention July 14.

Oregon has 25 presidential delegates up for grabs, and most if not all are going to Romney.

Romney has all but clinched the nomination, and is well on his way to winning the 1,144 delegates needed to get the party nod.

Bob Kerrey won the Democratic nomination for Nebraska’s open U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, while Republicans decided a tight three-way race that reflected the divisions within the GOP.

Kerrey, a former senator seeking another turn on Capitol Hill in one of the year’s most contested Senate races, easily captured the Democrats’ nomination.

Officials continued to count votes in the primary that illustrates the split between the establishment Republicans who favored State Attorney General Jon Bruning and tea partyers who helped state Sen. Deb Fischer make a late play for the nomination. State Treasurer Don Stenberg also was on the ballot for his fourth attempt to become a U.S. senator.

Early returns showed a close race between Bruning and Fischer, with Fischer enjoying a narrow lead.

Romney was 171 delegates short of the 1,144 needed for the nomination and was on pace to get them before the month ended. He spent his day in Iowa, a competitive general election battleground, criticizing President Barack Obama on voters’ top concern, the economy.

“This is not solely a Democrat or a Republican problem,” Romney said in Des Moines in a clear pitch to independent voters who will decide the election. “The issue isn’t who deserves the most blame, it’s who is going to do what it takes to put out the fire.”