<START> Obama calls Romney to offer congratulations Updated 12:20 p.m. - President Obama called Mitt Romney on Wednesday to congratulate the former Massachusetts governor on winning the necessary delegates to secure the Republican presidential nomination. The Obama campaign released a short readout of the call, which occurred at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. "President Obama said that he looked forward to an important and healthy debate about America's future, and wished Governor Romney and his family well throughout the upcoming campaign," said an Obama campaign statement emailed to reporters by spokesman Ben LaBolt. "It was brief and cordial," said a Romney campaign aide. Gov. Romney thanked the president for his congratulations and wished him and his family well. Romney, per NBC News projections, surpassed the necessary 1,144 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination after winning last night's Texas primary. Neither Obama nor Romney has any public campaign events on the schedule today. Garrett Haake contributed.