Newt Gingrich is acknowledging what has become increasingly clear: Mitt Romney is the likely GOP presidential nominee.
The former House speaker told Milwaukee radio station WTMJ Friday he thinks Romney "is clearly the front-runner." Gingrich said Romney "will probably" get the 1,144 convention delegates he needs to win the nomination, but added that Romney still has to earn it.
Gingrich has refused to leave the race. He said earlier this week that he would continue to campaign until Romney gets those delegates.
Gingrich's comments Friday were a turnaround from what he said after Romney's third-place finish in the GOP primaries in Alabama and Mississippi on March 13. Gingrich said then: "If you're the front-runner and you keep coming in third, you're not much of a front-runner."
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