Romney wins Puerto Rico primary Mitt Romney handily won the Puerto Rico primary, extending his lead in delegates to the Republican convention after a strong display of his campaign's organisational muscle and appeal to conservative Hispanics in the island territory. With 23 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Romney had garnered 83 per cent of preferences, an overwhelming lead over Rick Santorum, his main opponent for the nomination, who was in second place with 8 per cent. Newt Gingrich was stuck in third with 2 per cent, slightly ahead of Ron Paul who had 1 per cent of the vote. The sweeping win in Puerto Rico will give Mr Romney 20 additional delegates to the party convention in August, allowing him to increase his advantage over Mr Santorum, who is desperately trying to catch up to the former governor of Massachusetts. According to CNN, Mr Romney has now garnered 518 of the 1144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination, against 239 for Mr Santorum. The victory in Puerto Rico could give Mr Romney fresh momentum in the Republican race following defeats in Alabama and Mississippi to Mr Santorum last week. The third-place finishes for Mr Romney in the two southern states rekindled talk of a divisive and competitive race all the way to the convention. Mr Romney was always a favourite in Puerto Rico, after obtaining the endorsement of the island's governor, and prevailing in other island territories such as the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Marianas. He also won the in the state of Hawaii. And yet Mr Santorum - along with Mr Romney - did campaign in Puerto Rico last week in an attempt to stun the frontrunner once again or at least prevent him from winning an absolute majority. But the former senator stirred up controversy after saying that if Puerto Rico won statehood - which many on the island are pushing for - they would need to adopt English as their official language. This might have blunted Mr Santorum's hopes of making headway with Puerto Rican conservatives. On Sunday the two main contenders for the Republican nomination were battling it out for votes in Illinois, the next state to head to the polls on Tuesday and a much larger prize than Puerto Rico. The latest surveys taken last week show Mr Romney with a 6-9 percentage point advantage in Illinois, offering one more chance to extend his advantage on Barack Obama's home turf. But Louisiana, the following contest on the calendar, could favour Mr Santorum, continuing the series of mixed results that have defined the Republican nomination fight this year. In an interview with ABC television on Sunday, Mr Santorum pleaded for a chance to debate Mr Romney single-handedly, sidelining Mr Gingrich and Mr Paul. "I'd love to be able to get one-on-one with Governor Romney and expose the record that would be the weakest record we could possibly put up against Barack Obama," Mr Santorum said. We can't nominate such a weak candidate. Mr Romney's campaign fired back saying that Mr Santorum was desperate and pointing out the former senator's endorsement of Mr Romney for president in 2007. "Senator Santorum is lashing out in order to distract from the fact that he is an economic lightweight," said Gail Gitcho, Mr Romney's communications director.