1944 Puerto Rican general election

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on November 7, 1944. ^[1] They were the last elections before the introduction of direct elections for governor, who was appointed by the President of the United States. Suffrage was universal; women and men over the age of 21 were eligible to vote.

The Republican Union joined forces with the remnants of the Tripartite Puerto Rican Unification movement, now called the Puerto Rican Progressive Party in the Partido Unión Republicana Progresista (PURP). The PURP and the Socialist Party formed a united front against the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).

Jesús T. Piñero of the PPD was elected Resident Commissioner with 65% of the vote. ^[2] However, he would later be appointed Governor by President Harry S. Truman in 1946, becoming the only Puerto Rican-born person appointed to the position. He served as governor until Luis Muñoz Marín was elected governor in 1948.

Results

Resident commissioner

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Jesús T. Piñero	Popular Democratic Party	383,280	64.75
	Manuel Font	PURP–PS–PL	208,516	35.22
	Agustín Fernández	Authentic Party	159	0.03
	Francisco Grovas	Proletarian Party	23	0.00
Total			591,978	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			719,159	–
Source: Nolla, [3] Nohlen

Senate

At-large senators

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	Notes
	Luis Muñoz Marín	Popular Democratic Party	148,028	24.99	Elected
	Rafael Arjona Siaca	Popular Democratic Party	131,067	22.13	Elected
	Vicente Geigel Polanco	Popular Democratic Party	104,104	17.58	Elected
	Bolívar Pagán	Socialist Party	67,973	11.48	Elected
	Leopoldo Figueroa	Partido Unión Republicana Progresista	53,131	8.97	Elected
	José A. Balseiro	Partido Unión Republicana Progresista	48,405	8.17
	Josefina Barceló Bird de Romero	Liberal Party of Puerto Rico	38,643	6.52
	Luis Rojas	Authentic Party	242	0.04
	Victor M. Morales	Proletarian Party	102	0.02
Independents			618	0.10
Total			592,313	100.00
Source: Nolla [4]

District senators

Party		Class 1			Class 2			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Popular Democratic Party	383,293	64.78	7	383,303	64.78	7	14
	PURP–PS–PL	208,226	35.19	0	208,219	35.19	0	0
	Authentic Party	116	0.02	0	142	0.02	0	0
	Proletarian Party	20	0.00	0	20	0.00	0	0
Total		591,655	100.00	7	591,684	100.00	7	14
Source: Nolla [5]

House of Representatives

At-large representatives

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	Notes
	Ernesto Ramos Antonini	Popular Democratic Party	141,784	23.94	Elected
	Samuel R. Quiñones	Popular Democratic Party	128,645	21.72	Elected
	Benjamín Ortiz	Popular Democratic Party	112,722	19.03	Elected
	Celestino Iriarte Miró	Partido Unión Republicana Progresista	101,536	17.15	Elected
	Lino Padrón Rivera	Socialist Party	67,953	11.47
	Rafael Rodríguez Pacheco	Liberal Party of Puerto Rico	38,581	6.52
	Osvaldo Albarrán	Authentic Party	242	0.04
	Tomás de Jesús Castro	Proletarian Party	100	0.02
Independents			624	0.11
Total			592,187	100.00
Source: Nolla [6]

District representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Popular Democratic Party	383,324	64.72	34
	PURP–PS–PL	208,824	35.26	1
	Authentic Party	141	0.02	0
	Proletarian Party	15	0.00	0
Total		592,304	100.00	35
Source: Nolla [7]

References

1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook: Volume I, Oxford University Press, p552
2. Escrutinio de las Elecciones Generales del 7 de noviembre de 1944 Puerto Rican Election Archive
3. Nolla
4. Nolla
5. Nolla
6. Nolla
7. Nolla