Republican Marco Rubio has won the latest contest in the battle to be the GOP’s presidential candidate, a day after being urged to quit the race.

With more than a quarter of votes counted, Marco Rubio has nearly 75% of the vote in Puerto Rico.

Despite his projected second victory in the state-by-state contest, Marco Rubio still trails Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

On March 5, Donald Trump called for a “one-on-one” battle with Ted Cruz, urging other rivals to quit the race.

Photo marcorubio.com

In the Democratic race, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are awaiting the outcome of a nominating contest in Maine, and preparing for a Sunday night debate in Flint, Michigan.

Speaking after wins in the Republican Kentucky caucuses and Louisiana primary election on Saturday, Donald Trump told a news conference: “I would love to take on Ted Cruz one on one.”

“Marco Rubio had a very very bad night and personally I call for him to drop out of the race. I think it’s time now that he dropped out of the race. I really think so.”

Meanwhile, Texas Senator Ted Cruz – who won Republican caucuses in Kansas and Maine – said he believed that “as long as the field remains divided, it gives Donald an advantage”.

While the win in Puerto Rico will boost Marco Rubio’s campaign, it sends just 23 delegates to the Republican convention which nominates a presidential candidate. Republican hopefuls need the votes of 1,237 delegates to get the nod for the presidential race proper.