Romney wins Puerto Rico primary in landslide vote

WASHINGTON - The Associated Press

Mitt Romney won an overwhelming victory over chief rival Rick Santorum in Puerto Rico’s Republican presidential primary.

To gain the nomination, Romney must accumulate 1,144 delegates to the Republican National Convention, allocated through state-by-state primary elections and caucuses. Before Puerto Rico’s vote was in, Romney had 501 delegates, more than all of his rivals combined. Santorum stands at 253, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has 136, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul is at 50, according to an Associated Press projection.

With 61 percent of the Puerto Rican votes counted, Romney had 83 percent of them. He won all 20 delegates to the national convention at stake because he prevailed with more than 50 percent of the vote. That padded his comfortable lead over Santorum in the race to amass the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch.

Obama raises $45 million
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama raised $45 million for his re-election bid in February, bringing his total to about $300 million for this election cycle, his campaign said yesterday.

Obama increased fundraising efforts during the month, collecting nearly twice as much as the $23 million per month average he raised during the final three months of 2011 and more than the $29.1 million he raised in January. The money was spread among Obama’s campaign, the Democratic party and two campaign funds. Obama’s campaign said nearly 350,000 people contributed in February.