Rick Santorum

This election cycle, most of the party’s elites are lined up behind Mitt Romney. But Romney, though ahead in the delegate count, has struggled to unify the base of the party in a way that will force his challengers out of the election. It shows how far the influence of those elites has fallen.

The Republican presidential election marched on Wednesday with Mitt Romney winning the Illinois Republican Primary Tuesday night. Pundits said Rick Santorum will face must-win contests in April.

In the 2012 election, the Republican primary contest has shifted to Illinois. It’s the latest state where voters are trying to choose from among the four, remaining mainstream Republican candidates, including Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have been campaigning in Puerto Rico this week in advance of the island territory’s primary. But the issues in Puerto Rico have their own special orientation.

Newt Gingrich is committed to making sure Mitt Romney isn’t the Republican nominee for president of the United States. But on Tuesday, he failed to win two states that many had said were crucial to his victory.