Marco Rubio wins Republican primary in Puerto Rico

Marco Rubio has won the Republican primary in Puerto Rico, with supporters saying he would help lift the island out of its long economic slump.

Mr Rubio tweeted: "Thank you, Puerto Rico!" in English as it looked liked he would finish with more than half of the vote and get all 20 delegates determined by the primary.

If no-one finishes with more than 50%, the 20 delegates would be divided proportionately among candidates who received at least 20%. The territory's three super-delegates have committed to Mr Rubio.

"The numbers are overwhelming," said Jenniffer Gonzalez, chairwoman of Puerto Rico's Republican Party. "This primary in Puerto Rico ... will demonstrate that the Hispanic vote is important."

Residents of the US island, which is struggling through a decade-long economic stagnation, cannot vote in the general election in November but can take part in the party primaries.

Party officials estimated more than 30,000 people cast ballots on Sunday. Officials said votes cast on Friday by 6,000 inmates would not be available until Wednesday.

Puerto Rico is one of the few US jurisdictions that allow inmates to vote. The only other people allowed to submit absentee ballots in the territory were military members, but party officials said they did not know how many of those had been cast.

The result came the day after Ted Cruz and Donald Trump each captured two victories in a four-state round of voting in the Republican race for the White House.

Mr Cruz, a Texas senator, claimed Kansas and Maine, and declared it "a manifestation of a real shift in momentum".

Billionaire Mr Trump, still the frontrunner in the hunt for delegates, took Louisiana and Kentucky.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders won in Nebraska and Kansas, while frontrunner Hillary Clinton took Louisiana.