After John Sununu formally nominated Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee for president, the roll call is underway, and Romney has just picked up the 1,144 delegates necessary to secure the party's nomination, with New Jersey putting him over the top.

Nobody's surprised by the nomination -- after all, Romney's been campaigning for months -- but it's one of those pieces of pageantry that also has an official effect. The majority of Iowa's delegates supporting Ron Paul, along with Nevada's, and Maine's heavy support for the insurgent candidate, show it's also a way for people to send one final message of dissent before the party rallies behind its final nominee. But in the end Romney on Tuesday officially became the Republican candidate for president.

Update: Paul Ryan is officially the vice-presidential nominee as well via a voice vote, just for good measure.

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Adam Martin