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Republican contest: Rick Santorum wins Louisiana poll | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Rick Santorum has won the Republican presidential primary in Louisiana, partial results show. | |
With most votes counted in the southern US state, the ex-Pennsylvania senator secured 49%, well ahead of the front-runner Mitt Romney, who had 26%. | |
Mr Santorum is seeking to close the gap on the ex-Massachusetts governor to become the party's nominee to challenge Barack Obama's in November's election. | |
Mr Romney has now won 21 out of 34 contests to Mr Santorum's 11. | |
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was trailing in Lousiana's poll in third place, ahead of Texan Ron Paul - who has yet to win a poll. | |
"We're still here. We're still fighting. We still believe, as this race really shows," Mr Santorum said in Wisconsin, where he watched the election results. | |
He enjoys strong support among conservatives in the south, and he has also picked up backing from Republicans who have peeled away from Mr Gingrich as he lost momentum. | |
However, Mr Romney is widely tipped to regain the advantage when the race moves on in April to Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington DC. | |
Delegate totals0 500 1000
| |
See detail of all states won | |
A candidate needs 1,144 delegates to win | |
He also received a boost earlier this week when he secured the endorsement of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. | |
Mr Bush called on Republicans to "unite" behind the Romney campaign. | |
Correspondents say the backing of the respected Republican suggests the party establishment could be coalescing around Mr Romney. | |
In another boost, FreedomWorks, an organisation that supports the Tea Party movement, dropped its opposition to Mr Romney's candidacy. | |
Mr Romney has so far won 563 delegates and Mr Santorum's 263, according to an estimate by the Associated Press news agency. | |
Louisiana's primary allocated 20 of the state's 46 total delegates; the rest will be decided at the state party convention in June. | |
A candidate needs to accumulate 1,144 delegates to the August convention in order to secure the Republican nomination. |