Mitt Romney officially clinched the GOP presidential nomination on Tuesday to move a step closer in his five-year quest for the White House.

To roaring cheers at the Republican National Convention in the packed Tampa Bay Times Forum, the delegation from New Jersey put Romney above the 1,144-delegate threshold, ensuring he will be the GOP challenger to President Barack Obama in November.

Earlier, the 2,200-plus convention delegates approved a conservative platform that called for less government, opposed same-sex marriage and endorsed a “human life amendment” to ban abortion with no specific exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is threatened.

Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, will be formally nominated on Thursday, and Romney’s acceptance speech that night will conclude the convention that had its agenda delayed by Hurricane Isaac, which hit Louisiana as early evening speakers addressed the delegates.

Republican officials appeared determined to stick to a tightened three-day schedule that kicked into full gear earlier in the day with official business and speeches accusing Obama of failed leadership and undermining the American dream.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus launched the litany of attacks, saying that another term for Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will mean “four more years of failure.”

In reference to Obama, Priebus said “he hasn’t even run a garage sale or seen the inside of a lemonade stand.” The nation needs a president “with real experience in a real economy,” Priebus added. “Mitt Romney will be that president.”

Other speakers continued the effort by Priebus to frame the election as a referendum on the policies of Obama.

“The American people are still asking ‘where are the jobs,’ but President Obama only offers excuses instead of answers,” House Speaker John Boehner told the delegates. “His record is a shadow of his rhetoric. Yet he has the nerve to say that he’s moving us forward, and the audacity to hope that we’ll believe him.”

Boehner also said “we can do better,” adding that “it starts with throwing out the politician who doesn’t get it, and electing a new president who does.”