After winning the Texas primary on May 29, Mitt Romney has secured the 1,144 delegates needed to receive the Republican nomination for president.

Recent voting polls indicate that the presidential race between incumbent Barack Obama and Romney will be close.

An Obama victory was more confident months ago but the race has tightened up, Associate Professor Roger Larocca said. Most polls predict a very slim Obama victory in November.

“There are some warning signs for the president,” said Associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department David Dulio.

“(Obama’s) fundraising, I don’t think, is where they’d like it,”  Dulio said. “Romney appears to be able to match it, at least when you take the Romney fundraising and the Super PAC fundraising and compare it to Obama and the Democratic Super PAC fundraising.”

Choosing a running mate

Who Romney selects as his running mate is still in question and political experts are debating who would make the best impact on Romney’s campaign.

“Some signs point to (Marco) Rubio (Senator from Florida),” Dulio said, “others point to somebody like Rob Portman (Senator from Ohio).”

Other names noted include Congressman Paul Ryan, but Ryan is more likely to stay in his position as Chairman of the House Budget Committee due to higher influence in that post and the risk of losing his seat as well as being part of Romney’s ticket, Dulio said.

Romney’s chance in Michigan

When pressed on whether or not Michigan could swing in Romney’s favor, Dulio said that it was unlikely.

“I think his stance on the auto bailout is what’s going to sink him here. There’s an opportunity for Republicans to win, but I’m not sure they have grasped it as tightly as they could, especially with the nomination of Romney,” Dulio said.

Chairman of the College Repubicans at OU, Leo Oriet has a more positive outlook on Romney’s chances in Michigan.

Oriet said that because of the job Governor Rick Synder has done turning around the Michigan economy, Romney will have an easier time campaigning in his hometown state.

“While campaigning in Michigan, Romney will play up that his dad was governor of the state,” Leo said.

Dulio said that Michigan may not prove critical in the end for Republicans. “He doesn’t need it but, boy, it would help him.”