Wisconsin primary: Mitt Romney claims third victory over Rick Santorum in one night

Capping a big night for Mitt Romney, CBS projects that the former Massachusetts governor will win Wisconsin's Republican primary tonight.

With 68 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had collected nearly half of the ballots cast, CBS said.

More from GlobalPost: DC Primary: Romney defeats Santorum, takes another 16 delegates

In a speech carried live by CNN, Romney depicted President Barack Obama as an "out of touch liberal" who disliked free enterprise.

"He never seemed to grasp the very basic point that a plant closes when a business loses money," Romney said.

"Under Barack Obama, America hasn't been working," he continued. "When attack business, and you vilify success, you're going to have less business and less success."

Of the state's 42 delegages, 24 are awarded by Congressional District (three each) and 18 go to the winner of the statewide vote, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times estimated tonight that Romney's three victories brought him to 616 nominating delegates, relegating former Pensylvannia a distant second.