Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday endorsed Republican front-runner Senator John McCain (Arizona). Romney's pledge also means that he will ask the 280 delegates that he had accumulated during his run through the early primaries and caucuses, to back McCain as well. With the addition of Romney's delegates, McCain will come close to the total of 1,191 needed to secure the Republican nomination a full nine months before the November 2008 general election. Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, left McCain as the clear front-runner in the Republican presidential race, leaving behind former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and libertarian-leaning Texas Representative Ron Paul, who are both lagging. Officials said Romney finally decided to back McCain earlier on Thursday, citing a desire to help the Arizona senator secure the nomination while the Democrats still did not have a nominee.
