It was a different Mitt Romney on Wednesday afternoon in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland, a day after an easy victory in the Illinois Primary, as the GOP frontrunner seemed to be connecting with his audience and actually took questions from the crowd.

Romney had several reasons to be happy - it was his 43rd wedding anniversary, he had picked up over fifty delegates on Rick Santorum in recent days, and he unexpectedly reeled in a big endorsement from a very prominent Republican political family.

"My cell phone rang, and I looked at it, and it just said, "Jeb" on it," Romney told his only rally of the day.

That "Jeb" was the former Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, who had withheld his endorsement back in January while Romney won the Florida Primary.

But after Romney's big win in Illinois on Tuesday night, Bush was getting off the fence and sending a very clear message to others in the GOP establishment.

"I didn't even have to ask, he said, 'Mitt, I just want to let you know that I'm endorsing you today,'" Romney quoted Bush as saying.

While there are still certainly potholes ahead for Romney - like Louisiana on Saturday, where he is likely to lose to Rick Santorum - there was just a growing sense in the halls of Congress that it's time for the GOP to rally behind Romney.

But, that could still take a few weeks, as no one really expects Rick Santorum will drop out before his home state primary in Pennsylvania on April 24.

Romney will stump for votes on Friday in Louisiana, but won't stay there for election night; Newt Gingrich won't be there either, which sends a clear message that neither one expects to be in the winner's circle.

Romney came to Maryland on Wednesday for one main reason, the Free State votes on April 3 along with the District of Columbia and Wisconsin - and Romney is the clear favorite in the first two, while Santroum still has hopes in the Badget State.

On Thursday morning, Romney will hold a fund raising breakfast at a hotel just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol, where the GOP frontrunner will meet with Republican lawmakers who have already endorsed him.

There could be more endorsements from Republicans in Congress in the weeks ahead, especially as Newt Gingrich continues to languish in the polls - PPP reported on Wednesday night that "Gingrich is really fading" in Louisiana, a state where his backers had hoped to rebound.

The contests in April though have a distinct edge in favor of Romney, and it may well be that we are watching his march to the GOP nomination.

Still, they play the games for a reason, and Santorum expects to be the next winner on Saturday night in the Bayou State.