Romney sweeps Puerto Rico primary
Leading GOP candidate continues to widen gap vis-à-vis Republican rivals ahead of party's August caucus. Romney: Win proves Republicans can tap into Hispanic vote
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney swept to a big win in his party's primary in Puerto Rico on Sunday, bolstering his position as front-runner in the race to decide who will face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.
With about 60% of the ballots counted, Romney had about 83% of the vote, according to Puerto Rico's electoral commission. Rick Santorum was in second place with just under 8%.
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With Puerto Rico's Republican Electoral Commissioner Jose Enrique Melendez declaring Romney's victory official on Sunday night, he was poised to sweep all 20 delegates.
At a town hall meeting in Vernon Hills, Illinois, the former Massachusetts governor said his "extraordinary victory" signaled that Republicans can tap into broad-based support in the Hispanic community.
"Those people who don't think Latinos will vote for a Republican need to take a look at Puerto Rico," he said.
"I intend to become our nominee, and I intend to get Latino voters to vote for a Republican and take back the White House," he added.
Romney has a big lead in support from party delegates, whose backing is needed to win the nomination. But he faces a growing challenge from Santorum in Illinois, which holds its primary contest on Tuesday.
The Illinois vote is the next big hurdle in the months-long fight to win the 1,144 delegates needed to seal the Republican nomination.
Romney's win on Sunday was part of a carefully planned "island strategy," which has included wins in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and US Virgin Islands, to blunt the impact of losses to Santorum in some recent contests.
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