WASHINGTON (AP) - Mitt Romney has clinched the Republican nomination for president with a win in the Texas primary.

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The Associated Press delegate count shows that Romney surpassed the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination during Tuesday's primary. Early returns show Romney posting a big win in Texas.

Romney says he's honored and humbled to become the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee. And he's expressing confidence in his chances of winning the White House this fall.

In a post-victory statement, he claims the party has come together after a divisive primary with one goal. He says that's putting what he calls the countries' failures of the last three-plus years in the past. He also says he's mindful of the challenges that lie ahead. But he also says he and the country will settle for nothing less than making America prosperous and filled with jobs.

It's a triumph of endurance for a candidate who came up short four years ago and had to fight hard this year as voters flirted with a carousel of GOP rivals.

Romney reached the nomination milestone with a steady message of concern about the U.S. economy, a campaign organization that dwarfed those of his GOP opponents, and a fundraising operation second only to that of his Democratic opponent in the general election, President Barack Obama.