Mitt Romney swept to the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night at a storm-delayed national convention scripted to propel him into a close race for the White House in tough economic times. 
 
 Ann Romney, wife of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, looks over the main stage during a sound check at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012.... (Associated Press) 
 
 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, right, stands on the main stage in the Tampa Tribune Forum before the start of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/J.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Delegates from the state of Georgia applaud after casting their votes for presidential candidate Mitt Romneyduring the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne... (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, center, R-Wis., works on the speech he will deliver at the Republican National Convention, with senior adviser Dan Senor, left, and senior aid... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hands out cookies during a flight to Tampa, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks with staff after boarding his flight for Tampa on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012 in Bedford, Mass. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 Texas delegate Clint Moore and the rest of Texas delegates fashion their cowboy hats at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Associated Press) 
 
 California casts their votes for presidential candidate Mitt Romney during the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Associated Press) 
 
 The former Massachusetts governor watched on television with his wife, Ann, at a hotel suite across the street from the convention hall as delegates sealed his hard-won victories in the primaries and caucuses of last winter. 
 
 New Jersey put him over the top in a ritual roll call of the states. 
 
 Republican mockery of President Barack Obama began almost instantly from the podium at a convention postponed once and dogged still by Hurricane Isaac. The Democratic president has "never run a company. He hasn't even run a garage sale or seen the inside of a lemonade stand," declared Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican Party. 
 
 To send Romney and ticketmate Paul Ryan into the fall campaign, the convention quickly approved a conservative platform that calls for tax cuts _ not government spending _ to stimulate the economy at a time of sluggish growth and 8.3 percent unemployment. 
 
 Ann Romney's speech was scheduled as a prime-time highlight, an appearance meant to cast her multimillionaire-businessman-turned-politician husband in a soft and likable light before a national TV audience. 
 
 Aides said Romney would be in the hall when she spoke. 
 
 While there was no doubt about Romney's command over the convention, the residue of a heated campaign for the nomination was evident inside the hall. 
 
 Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who never won a primary or caucus, drew several dozen delegate votes. Earlier, his supporters chanted and booed after the convention adopted rules they opposed, but were powerless to block, to prevent those votes from being officially registered. 
 
 Opinion polls made the race a close one as the Republicans' days of pageantry and speechmaking began in earnest, and the man tapped to deliver the keynote address set the stakes. 
 
 "Conventions are always huge for a challenger, because they're the ones introducing themselves" to the voters, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. 
 
 Convention planners squeezed two days of speeches and other convention business into one after scrapping Monday's scheduled opener because of fears that Isaac would make a direct hit on the Florida Gulf Coast. 
 
 That threat fizzled, but it was instantly replaced by another _ that Republicans would wind up holding a political celebration at the same time the storm turned its fury on New Orleans, devastated almost exactly seven years ago by Hurricane Katrina. 
 
 Romney's convention planners said they were in frequent contact with weather forecasters, but they declined to discuss what contingency plans, if any, they had to accelerate plans for him to deliver a formal acceptance speech Thursday night. 
 
 "This is obviously the biggest speech of my life," Mrs. Romney said as she visited the custom-made podium to prepare for her remarks. 
 
 Ratification of a party platform was prelude to Romney's nomination, a document more conservative on abortion than the candidate. 
 
 On economic matters, it backs extension of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 and due to expire at year's end, without exception. It also calls for an additional 20 percent reduction in income tax brackets that Romney favors. 
 
 In a time of 8.3 percent unemployment and the slowest economic recovery in the post-World War II era, that went to the crux of the campaign for the White House. 
 
 By contrast, Obama wants to allow existing tax cuts to expire on upper income taxpayers, and has criticized Romney's overall economic plans as a boon to millionaires that would raise taxes on the middle class. 
 
 The GOP platform also pledges that a Republican-controlled Congress will repeal, and Romney will sign, legislation to repeal the health care legislation Obama won from a Democratic-controlled Congress. So, too, for the measure passed to regulate Wall Street in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse. 
 
 On abortion, the platform says, "The unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed." 
 
 Romney opposes abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or when "the health and life of the mother" are at stake, he said in a convention week interview. 
 
 Obama, who accepts renomination at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., next week, campaigned in Iowa Tuesday as he set out on a tour of college campuses in battleground states in hopes of boosting voter registration among college students. 
 
 Before departing the White House, he made a point of appearing before reporters to announce the government's latest steps to help those in the way of Isaac. He signed a declaration of emergency for Mississippi and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local storm response efforts in the state. 
 
 His surrogates did their best to counter Romney and the Republicans. 
 
 Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, dismissing GOP attempts to woo Hispanic voters, said, "You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate." He added, "This is a party with a platform that calls for the self-deportation of 11 million people." 
 
 Hispanics strongly favor Obama, according to public polls, and Romney and his party have been seeking to win a bigger share of their votes by emphasizing proposals to fix the economy rather than ease their positions on immigration. 
 
 Female voters, too, prefer the president over his challenger, and Democrats have done their best to emphasize GOP opposition to abortion and even suggest the party might try and curtail access to contraceptives if it wins power. 
 
 Whatever the impact of those issues, the polls show the economy is overwhelmingly the dominant issue in the race, and on that, the voters narrowly say they trust Romney more. 
 
 In an AP-GfK poll taken Aug. 16-20, some 48 percent of registered voters said they trust Romney more on economic issues, to 44 percent for Obama. 
 
 However, a Washington Post-ABC News in the days immediately before the convention found that 61 percent of registered voters said Obama was more likable, and 27 percent said Romney. 
 
 The convention took place in an atmosphere of security that was both stringent and selective. Thousands of police from all over the country, joined by National Guard troops, Secret Service and others, stood in small groups at checkpoints, demanding those entering a secure area display proper credentials numerous times. 
 
 But former Michigan Gov. John Engler and an aide were hustled to the front of a long line waiting to clear security at one building. 
 
 Aside from Paul, Romney's long-ago rivals for the party nomination had bit roles at his convention, if that. 
 
 Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain posed for a photo after running into each other at the convention center. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were also in town, as well, both with speaking slots, unlike Bachmann and Cain. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Brian Bakst, Thomas Beaumont, Tamara Lush, Brendan Farrington, Julie Mazziotta, Steve Peoples, Kasie Hunt and Philip Elliott in Florida and Steven Ohlemacher, Alicia A. Caldwell and Jennifer Agiesta in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| Story highlights A new poll shows Republicans want Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul to drop out 
 
 The poll indicates Gingrich supporters back Mitt Romney as their second choice 
 
 Romney has a 2-to-1 lead in delegates over Rick Santorum 
 
 Gingrich, Paul and Santorum say they will stay in the race 
 
 With calls increasing for some or all of them to drop out, challengers to Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney say they intend to keep battling until the nomination gets settled. 
 
 A CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday indicated that most Republicans would like to see former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul end their bids, but they also want conservative challenger Rick Santorum to stay in the race. 
 
 The poll, conducted over the weekend, showed that about six in 10 Republicans want Gingrich and Paul to halt their campaigns, while a similar number supported Santorum continuing his bid. 
 
 According to CNN's latest estimate, Romney has secured 569 delegates and needs 575 more to reach the 1,144 required to clinch the GOP nomination. 
 
 Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, has 262 delegates, with Gingrich at 136 and Paul at 71. 
 
 Despite the long odds, none of the three trailing candidates appears close to giving up. 
 
 Santorum challenged the delegate math, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday that the Republican race was likely to continue until the party's national convention in August in Florida. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Santorum bashes Obama over whispering Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Santorum bashes Obama over whispering 00:50 
 
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 "There may be someone with what they say are enough delegates, but as you also know, Wolf, a huge number of delegates are uncommitted," Santorum said. "They may be for me, or they may be for Mitt, but they're technically uncommitted, and therefore you can't put them in your column." 
 
 Gingrich said Tuesday that he would drop out if Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, reaches the 1,144-delegate threshold to claim the nomination. However, Gingrich added he doubted that would happen before the convention. 
 
 "Gov. Romney is the front-runner but is a long way from a majority," Gingrich said at Maryland's capitol building in Annapolis. "If (Romney) does get, by the time Utah votes on the 26th of June, if he gets a majority, obviously I will support him and will be delighted to do anything I can to help defeat Barack Obama." 
 
 Otherwise, Gingrich said, a failure by Romney to secure the nomination in the primaries would bring "one of the most interesting open conventions in American history." 
 
 "It'll be a 60-day dialogue on television, radio, the Internet all the way up to Tampa," Gingrich said. "And the question will be asked: Who can best beat Barack Obama? And at that point, I think, most Republicans agree that I would probably do a better job debating Obama than any other candidate. And I think it becomes a very viable, very lively campaign." 
 
 Paul also sounded committed to staying in the race, telling CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" on Monday that "it's way too soon for you to write anybody off." 
 
 "Why should we just throw in the towel because people like you say, 'Hey, throw in the towel'? " Paul asked. 
 
 According to the new poll, 36% of Republicans support Romney for the nomination, and 26% back Santorum. It was a different story in February, when the two men were effectively tied in CNN's last national survey, with Santorum at 34% and Romney at 32%. 
 
 The survey seemed to dispel the commonly held notion that Gingrich and Santorum were vying for conservative support against the more moderate Romney. According to the poll, most of Gingrich's supporters said Romney was their second choice, rather than Santorum. 
 
 "If you recalculate the GOP horse race using the Gingrich voters' second choice, Romney's lead over Santorum grows to 15 percentage points -- 45% for Romney and 30% for Santorum -- compared to the 10-point margin Romney currently has in the four-man field," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. 
 
 The primary calendar resumes April 3 with contests in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia. A three-week break follows until April 24, when New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island vote. 
 
 Those contests in more moderate states in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic and Midwest appear to favor Romney over Santorum, with the possible exception of Pennsylvania, which Santorum represented in Congress for nearly two decades. 
 
 On Tuesday, a week before the Wisconsin primary, a new poll by the Marquette Law School showed Romney leading Santorum, with Paul and Gingrich well back in the contest for 42 delegates. ||||| AP Photo/Jim Cole 
 
 Updated 5:34 p.m. Eastern Time 
 
 NEW ORLEANS - Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans Saturday, easily beating out his rivals for the GOP nomination. Second place went to Jon Huntsman, the little-known former Utah governor who missed the conference with a cold. 
 
 With the Libertarian-leaning Paul seen as unlikely to win the party's nomination, the second-place finish will be seen as a victory for Huntsman, the former ambassador to China who is announcing his presidential campaign next week. Huntsman's wife and daughter traveled to the conference in his place, though they did not speak. 
 
 Paul finished with 612 votes, followed by Huntsman with 382. Michele Bachmann took third with 191 votes, followed by Herman Cain with 104 votes. No other candidate got more than 100. 
 
 Mitt Romney took 74 votes, Newt Gingrich 69, Sarah Palin 41, Rick Santorum 30 and Tim Palwenty 18. 
 
 Attendees at the gathering for conservative and Republican activists were asked, "If the primary election for president were held today, for whom would you vote?" 
 
 Their choices - listed in alphabetical order - were Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, New Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Thaddeus McCotter, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. 
 
 Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, Johnson, McCotter, Paul, Roemer and Santorum addressed conference attendees. Huntsman had been scheduled to speak but canceled at the last minute. 
 
 Jon Huntsman CBN 
 
 Pawlenty and Romney, both of whom are declared candidates, skipped the conference. (Romney, who leads in polls of the GOP field, has vowed not to participate in any straw polls this year.) Palin, who has not declared a presidential campaign, also skipped the conference. 
 
 Left off the ballot was Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has been generating buzz and is now openly considering a presidential run. Perry was scheduled to address the conference Saturday, after the results were announced. 
 
 Last year Romney won the straw poll despite skipping the conference, edging out Paul by a single vote, with Gingrich and Palin essentially tying for third. 
 
 Organizations affiliated with the various candidates spend money to influence the outcome of the straw poll and thus generate positive headlines for their candidate. This is done by paying for or subsidizing conference tickets and travel to the conference for supporters from around the country. 
 
 Paul's mostly-young supporters cheered when the results were announced, while others booed. Paul - whose base of support is passionate, if limited - won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year. 
 
 Straw polls are often seen as signs of enthusiasm among the most active members of the party, though detractors are quick to note they are easily manipulated and that the pool of respondents does not necessarily represent the party overall. 
 
 
 
 It has been rumored here that Huntsman's campaign bought tickets for and bussed in a number of college Republicans to up his vote. In response to an inquiry from CBS News, Huntsman's camp did not deny spending money to increase Huntsman's vote total. 
 
 
 
 Huntsman's cancellation was seen as a missed opportunity to make his case to conservative activists, who were thought to view him warily because of his centrist positions on immigration, cap-and-trade legislation and gay rights - as well as his willingness to serve in the Obama administration. But his strong finish in the straw poll will serve as a signal -- legitimate or not -- that conservative activists may be more open to Huntsman than some expected. 
 
 On June 3, Huntsman spoke at the socially-conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington, where he stressed his record opposing abortion rights. 
 
 He said that if Republicans prioritize economic issues over "life" issues, "the deficit we will face is one that is much more destructive. It will be a deficit of the heart and of the soul." 
 
 "That is a trade we should not make," said Huntsman. 
 
 More from the Republican Leadership Conference: 
 
 Winners and losers at the Republican Leadership Conference 
 
 Rick Perry: Republicans should "stop apologizing" 
 
 Buddy Roemer decries special interest "tyranny" 
 
 Michele Bachmann: I'll bring the voice of the people to the Oval Office 
 
 Did Michele Bachmann "raise" 23 foster kids?" 
 
 Haley Barbour: Tea Party must stick with GOP 
 
 Newt Gingrich vows to win his way; Can it work? 
 
 Huckabee: Don't put social conservatives in a box 
 
 Herman Cain: "I have a dream"
– The GOP convention's main order of business is in the books: In the state roll call late this afternoon, Mitt Romney claimed the magic number of 1,144 delegates to secure the nomination, reports AP. For the record, New Jersey put him over the top. Romney is in Tampa to watch wife Ann's speech tonight, but the candidate himself isn't scheduled to address the convention—and accept the nomination—until Thursday night. After the roll call, Republicans nominated Paul Ryan by acclamation to be Romney's VP candidate. The final presidential tally, from CNN: Romney: 2,061 Ron Paul: 190 Rick Santorum: 9 Michele Bachmann: 1 Jon Huntsman: 1 Buddy Roemer: 1 Abstain/uncommitted: 20