Mitch McConnell not endorsing Romney, but thinks "chances are overwhelming" he'll win GOP nod Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) isn't planning on endorsing Mitt Romney yet, but on Sunday he offered high praise for the former Massachusetts governor and said he believes he's well on his way to winning the GOP nomination. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) "I think he's going to be an excellent candidate," McConnell said of Romney during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union." And I think the chances are overwhelming that he will be our nominee. It seems to me we're in the final phases of wrapping up this nomination. And most of the members of the Senate Republican conference are either supporting him, or they have the view that I do, that it's time to turn our attention to the fall campaign and begin to make the case against the president of the United States. On Sunday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) became the latest Capitol Hill Republican to throw his support behind the GOP frontrunner, following House Budget Committee Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), all of whom endorsed Romney last week. Asked by host Candy Crowley why he doesn't plan to endorse Romney, McConnell argued that his home state of Kentucky doesn't vote until late May and that voters elsewhere have not needed him to wade into the race. "Look, the people of Wisconsin are going to speak Tuesday and the District of Columbia and Maryland," McConnell said. I have not felt that they needed any advice from me as to what to do, but I think it's absolutely apparent that it's in the best interests of our party at this particular point to get behind the person who is obviously going to be our nominee and to begin to make the case against the president of the United States.