Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won a fairly easy victory in the Republican primaries in Illinois on Tuesday, March 20. This was reported by The New York Times .

Romney, after processing 99% of the vote, received 46.7%. His main competitor, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, received 35%. Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and Congressman Ron Paul received 9.3% and 8%, respectively. ( More information about all Republican candidates can be found here )

In the United States, presidential candidates are determined through party primaries, in which voters choose delegates to the final convention in September. To win the convention, candidates must secure the support of 1,144 delegates. In Illinois, 54 delegates were up for grabs.

To date, according to calculations by The Wall Street Journal , the balance of power in the race is as follows: Mitt Romney - 525 delegates, Rick Santorum - 253, Newton Gingrich - 138, and Ron Paul - 69.

The US presidential election will take place on November 6, 2012. According to most sociological polls conducted recently, not a single Republican candidate has yet succeeded in displacing the current Democratic President Barack Obama, who is supported by more than 50% of the population, in the ratings.

Romney wins Illinois primary