Sonny Coane, Chairman of the Sevierville Republican Party. (The Herald/Submitted Photo)

With the delegate count for Mitt Romney estimated at over half of the 1,144 needed to clinch the Republican Presidential nomination and his closest rival Rick Santorum recently dropping out of the race, many Republicans are shifting their support to Romney.

“I believe Mitt Romney will be the nominee,” said Sonny Coane, Chairman of the Sevierville Republican Party.

Although the current nomination process has been one of the more trying in recent history for the Republican Party, many conservatives feel the extended selection of a nominee will produce stronger results for the GOP come the Presidential Election in November.

“The vetting process will be beneficial to eventual nominee in the long-run, however, I think it is time for it to be over,” said Coane.

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