SCHAUMBURG, ILL. - Mitt Romney sailed past Rick Santorum to an easy victory in the Illinois primary Tuesday night, picking up his third big-state win in a row and padding his formidable lead in the race for convention delegates.
"What a night," Romney told cheering supporters in suburban Chicago. Turning his attention beyond his GOP rivals, he said he had a simple message for President Obama, the Democrat he hopes to face and defeat in November: "Enough. We've had enough."
Returns from 98 percent of Illinois' precincts showed Romney with 47 percent of the vote compared to 35 percent for Santorum, 9 percent for Ron Paul and 8 percent for Newt Gingrich.
That was a far more substantial showing for Romney than his grudging victories in the past month in Michigan and Ohio, primaries that had raised questions about the candidate's ability to rally the party behind him.
Santorum sounded like anything but a defeated contender as he spoke to supporters in Gettysburg, Pa. He said he had outpolled Romney in downstate Illinois and the areas "that conservatives and Republicans populate. We're very happy about that and we're happy about the delegates we're going to get, too."
"Saddle up, like [Ronald] Reagan did in the cowboy movies," he urged his backers.
Surveys of Illinois Republicans leaving the polls showed that Romney not only won among the groups that usually support him -- moderates, college graduates and wealthier voters -- but also was competitive among Santorum's generally more loyal coalition of Tea Party supporters and married women. If there was one driving force for Romney, it was the desire of Illinois Republicans to defeat Obama in the general election. Romney was supported by nearly three-quarters of those who said in exit polls that winning in November was their top priority.
More delegates for Romney
As Romney addressed supporters in a hotel ballroom, he said: "We know our future's brighter than these troubled times. We still believe in America, and we deserve a president who believes in us, and I believe in the American people."
Initial results showed Romney's victory in Illinois was worth at least 41 delegates.
That gave him 563 in the overall count maintained by the Associated Press, out of 1,144 needed to win the nomination. Santorum had 261 delegates, Gingrich 135 and Paul 50.
The primary capped a week in which the two campaigns seemed to be moving in opposition directions -- Romney increasingly focused on the general election battle against Obama while Santorum struggled to escape self-created controversies.
Most recently, he backpedaled after saying on Monday that the economy wasn't the main issue of the campaign. "Occasionally you say some things where you wish you had a do-over," he said later.
While polls taken in Illinois several days ago suggested a close race, Romney and Restore Our Future, a super PAC that backs him, unleashed a barrage of campaign ads to erode Santorum's standing. One ad accused the former Pennsylvania senator of changing his principles while serving in Congress, while two others criticized him for voting to raise the debt limit, raise his own pay as a lawmaker and side with former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to support legislation allowing felons the right to vote.
In all, Romney and Restore Our Future outspent Santorum and a super PAC that backs him by $3.5 million to $500,000, or an advantage of 7-1.
Santorum hopes to rebound in Saturday's primary in Louisiana.
A 10-day break follows before Washington, D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin hold primaries on April 3. Santorum is not on the ballot in the nation's capital. Private polling shows Romney with an advantage in Maryland, and Restore Our Future has launched a television ad campaign in the state.
Next big test in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is shaping up as the next big test between Romney and Santorum.
Already, Restore Our Future has put down more than $2 million in television advertising across the state. Santorum has spent about $50,000 to answer.
The Illinois vote count was plagued by ballot difficulties. Rupert Borgsmiller, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said "more than hundreds" of ballots were affected in 25 counties.
The New York Times contributed to this report.
UP NEXT
Saturday: Louisiana primary, 46 delegates.
April 3: Wisconsin primary, 42 delegates; Maryland primary, 37 delegates; District of Columbia primary, 19 delegates.
INSIDE
Shooting from the hip has hurt Santorum. A6
