US election 2012: Mitt Romney wins Puerto Rico primary Puerto Ricans, who recognise both English and Spanish as their official languages, will vote in November in a statehood referendum. With Puerto Rico's unemployment rate running at 15.1 per cent, many voters said they supported Romney because they believed he was best positioned among the Republican candidates to deliver on pledges about job creation on the island. Romney may have suffered at least one self-inflicted wound during a visit to Puerto Rico late last week, when he reiterated his opposition to the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court on grounds he did not support her judicial philosophy. Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno, a Romney supporter, is also a fan of Sotomayor. Her 2009 appointment to the high court was a source of pride to Puerto Ricans from across the political spectrum. Puerto Rico has about 3.8 million people. Its population can vote in partisan primaries but not in presidential elections. Puerto Ricans on the mainland have the same voting rights as other US citizens. Congress would have to give approval for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state. Although US lawmakers have considered various proposals to make English the official U.S. language, none has ever passed. Romney's win on Sunday was part of a carefully planned "island strategy," which included wins in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and US Virgin Islands, to blunt the impact of losses to Santorum in some recent contests. 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, in the months-long fight to win the 1,144 delegates needed to seal the Republican nomination.