Mitt Romney wins Kentucky primary

Mitt Romney won the Kentucky primary on Tuesday, accumulating more delegates toward the already presumed goal of becoming the GOP presidential nominee.

The Associated Press projected Romney’s win shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. ET.

{mosads}Kentucky awards 45 delegates that the candidate can add to his current tally. Romney headed into the primaries on Tuesday with 992 delegates, according to the Associated Press count. He needs 1,144 delegates to lock down the GOP nomination at the convention in August. Romney is expected to cross that line next week when Texas holds its primary and awards 152 delegates.

Since Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) announced last week that he would no longer compete in the primaries, Romney did not face opposition in Kentucky, which Ron Paul’s son, Rand, represents in the Senate. 

Romney, who has been in general election mode for more than a month, campaigned very little in the state since it was expected to be an easy victory. In 2008, Kentucky went to the Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), by a 16-point margin.