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Mitt Romney scored a win in Puerto Rico’s Republican primary this weekend, pocketing all of the territory’s 20 GOP delegates (because he finished with more than 50 percent of the vote) in the bruising race for the GOP presidential nomination.

With about 83 percent of total ballots accounted for early Monday in Puerto Rico, the Republican presidential candidate had garnered more than 98,000 votes.

That’s 83 percent of the total, with Rick Santorum a distant second at 8 percent.

Elizabeth Warren for President
(Getty Images)

The other two candidates, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, each won approximately 2 percent of the votes cast, according to CNN’s Puerto Rico results.

Even as the vote was being counted in Puerto Rico, Romney, Santorum and the others were already back on the mainland vying for delegates.

Illinois holds its primary on Tuesday and Louisiana on Saturday.

CNN’s latest delegate estimates show Romney with 518 delegates to Santorum’s 239. Gingrich has 139 delegates, and libertarian champion Paul has 69.

 
To secure the nomination, 1,144 delegates are needed. Romney has the inside track, but his opponents have shown zero willingness to quit the fight.

By blocking Romney from reaching that benchmark – even if they fall short themselves – they could vie for the nomination at the GOP national convention.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and Romney’s chief rival of late, was in Louisiana late Sunday, where he is expected to win the primary.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, was in Illinois where polls indicate he holds a small lead over Santorum, with Gingrich and Paul well behind.