Romney nomination pushed by Republican leaders

US: A top congressional Republican has predicted Mitt Romney will be crowned as the party's presidential nominee, but the frontrunner's main rival, Rick Santorum, has vowed to fight on.

The White House also signaled that it sees Romney as the likely Republican challenger to President Barack Obama in November, with Vice President Joe Biden attacking the former Massachusetts governor in a television interview.

Three months into a bitterly fought race for the nomination, Romney has a strong lead and polls suggest he will win three more primaries on Tuesday -- in Wisconsin, Maryland and the US capital Washington.

"He's going to be an excellent candidate, and I think the chances are overwhelming that he will be our nominee," Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said Sunday.

"It seems to me we're in the final phases of wrapping up this nomination." McConnell did not explicitly endorse Romney but suggested that the party should follow the lead of former president George H.W. Bush and Congressman Paul Ryan, a leading Republican and representative for Wisconsin, who did.

AFP