2012 Puerto Rican general election

Last updated

2012 Puerto Rican general election
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg
←  2008 November 6, 2012 2016  →
Gubernatorial election
Turnout78.11%
  Alejandro Garcia Padilla -cropped.jpg Luis Fortuno official congressional photo 3 crop.jpg
Candidate Alejandro García Padilla Luis Fortuño
Party Popular Democratic New Progressive
Popular vote896,060884,775
Percentage48.04%47.44%
Puerto Rico Governor Municipalities 2012.svg
Results by municipality
Padilla:      40-50%     50-60%
Fortuño:      40–50%     50–60%
Governor before election

Luis Fortuño
New Progressive

Elected Governor

Alejandro García Padilla
Popular Democratic

Resident Commissioner election
  Pedro-Pierluisi-cropped 2.jpg 3x4.svg
Candidate Pedro Pierluisi Rafael Cox Alomar
Party New Progressive Popular Democratic
Alliance Democratic Democratic
Popular vote905,066881,181
Percentage48.76%47.47%
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner 2012.svg
Results by municipality
Pierluisi:      40-50%     50-60%
Alomar:      40–50%     50–60%
Resident Commissioner before election

Pedro Pierluisi
New Progressive

Elected Resident Commissioner

Pedro Pierluisi
New Progressive

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government that would serve for the next four years, including the governor, resident commissioner and members of the Legislative Assembly. [1] A status referendum was held on the same date.

Contents

The gubernatorial elections were won by then-Senator Alejandro García Padilla from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), who defeated incumbent governor Luis Fortuño from the New Progressive Party (PNP) in a close election. This election marked the second time in more than 40 years that six parties participated in the election, the first time in more than 60 years that a status referendum was held on the same day as the general election, and the first time in Puerto Rico that absentee ballots were issued for those who were out of the country on the day of the election. [2] As of 2024, this was the most recent time a member of the Popular Democratic Party won the governorship of Puerto Rico, and the last time a Republican did so.

In the elections for Resident Commissioner, incumbent Pedro Pierluisi of the PNP (who caucused with the Democratic Party and who was first elected in 2008, narrowly won reelection for a second term. [3] Pierluisi defeated his closest opponent, Rafael Cox Alomar of the PPD by almost 1.3%. [3]

Candidates

Before the election year, the constitution of Puerto Rico provides for any qualified person to present their candidacy for a specific position. If two or more candidates from the same party present their candidacy for the same position, and they can't reach an agreement within the party, a primary election is held. This election is held within the inscribed members of each party, to select which of the candidates will represent the party in the general election.

Both of the main parties, the PNP and PPD, held primaries for several positions on March 18, 2012.

New Progressive Party (PNP)

The primaries were held on March 18, 2012, to determine several candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives, and others.

The primaries were held on March 18, 2012, to determine several candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives, and others.

Governor

New Progressive Party

Incumbent Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, announced his candidacy for reelection in October 2011. [4] Former Secretary of Health, Iván González Cancel, challenged him to a primary, but the court ruled it out. [5] [6]

Current senator Alejandro García Padilla, announced his candidacy in March 2011. [7]

Puerto Rican Independence Party

Former Electoral Commissioner Juan Dalmau Ramírez, announced his candidacy for the Puerto Rican Independence Party. In January 2012, he presented his campaign staff and government program. [8]

Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico

Rogelio Figueroa was the candidate for governor for the PPR party. [9]

Movimiento Unión Soberanista

The MUS had chosen Dr. Enrique Vázquez Quintana as candidate for governor. [10] However, in August 2012, Vázquez Quintana withdrew from the candidacy. A week later, he was replaced by Attorney Arturo Hernández, who was formerly president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association. [11] Hernández was already a candidate for the Senate of Puerto Rico.

Working People's Party

Professor Rafael Bernabe was announced as the gubernatorial candidate for the PPT in June 2012. [12]

Resident Commissioner

The incumbent Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, from the PNP, faced the following candidates for the position:

Senate

At-large

The ballot featured seventeen (17) candidates from six different parties and one independent candidate (bold denotes incumbent candidates)

District

House of Representatives

At-large

The ballot featured sixteen (16) candidates from six different parties and one independent candidate (bold denotes incumbent candidates)

Campaign

The campaign of the main opposing party, the PPD, focused mostly on the problems of crime, unemployment, and high utility costs, attributing them to the failure of the incumbent governor, Luis Fortuño, from the PNP. [13] The PNP, on the other hand, focused mostly on the lack of experience of the PPD candidate, Alejandro García Padilla. [14]

The minority parties have directed their campaign at the inability of the main two parties to administer the country. The Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR) attacked the alleged classism and social inequality of the current government, [15] while the Working People's Party (PPT) advocated for a government more attuned to the working class. [16]

Debates

There were two official debates celebrated with all gubernatorial candidates. The first one was held on September 11, 2012, under the title of "Vota o Quédate Calla'o" ("Vote or Keep your Mouth Shut"). It was transmitted by the television network of Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez. The second debate was held on October 25, 2012, under the title of "El Gran Debate". This debate was transmitted by Telemundo and had the best TV ratings for the night with 18.7 and a 27.3% share. [17]

Results

Governor

In the morning of November 7, 2012, Fortuño conceded the election to Alejandro García Padilla, just as the last votes were being counted. [18] The margin of victory was 0.7% (or 11,049 votes) which would make it the second closest election in the island in the last 20 years. The candidates of the minority parties all received less than the required 3% to remain registered. Notably, Rogelio Figueroa (from the PPR) received only 0.4% of the vote after receiving 3% in the 2008 general elections.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Alejandro García Padilla Popular Democratic Party 896,06048.04
Luis Fortuño New Progressive Party 884,77547.44
Juan Dalmau Puerto Rican Independence Party 47,3312.54
Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl Working People's Party 18,3120.98
Arturo Hernández Movimiento Unión Soberanista 10,5230.56
Rogelio Figueroa Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party 6,6680.36
Write-ins1,3750.07
Total1,865,044100.00
Valid votes1,865,04499.36
Invalid votes7,4880.40
Blank votes4,5230.24
Total votes1,877,055100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,402,94178.11
Source: Puerto Rico Election Archive

Resident commissioner

The incumbent Pedro Pierluisi from the PNP defeated the candidate from the PPD, Rafael Cox Alomar. Pierluisi managed to be reelected, despite the fact that his ballot partner, Governor Fortuño, lost against the PPD candidate. This would be the second time in the last 10 years where the governor and the resident commissioner came from different parties. The first one was after the 2004 elections where PPD candidate Aníbal Acevedo Vilá narrowly won the election, while Fortuño (PNP) was elected resident commissioner.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Pedro Pierluisi New Progressive Party 905,06648.76
Rafael Cox Alomar Popular Democratic Party 881,18147.47
Juan Mercado Nieves Puerto Rican Independence Party 38,9412.10
Félix Córdova Iturregui Working People's Party 13,1200.71
María de Lourdes Guzmán Movimiento Unión Soberanista 11,7640.63
Sadiasept Guillont Juarbe Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party 5,6470.30
Write-ins6260.03
Total1,856,345100.00
Valid votes1,856,34599.36
Invalid votes7,4880.40
Blank votes4,5230.24
Total votes1,868,356100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,402,94177.75
Source: Puerto Rico Election Archive

Senate

The PPD won a majority of seats in the Senate of Puerto Rico, with a total of 18 out of 27. The PNP won a total of 8 seats, while the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) won one seat. The PPD won the majority after two terms of being a minority. The election of a senator from the PIP also comes after one term with no senator seated. The PPD won six of the Puerto Rico Senatorial districts. The PNP won only two districts, despite winning all eight during the previous elections.

PartyAt-largeDistrictTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Popular Democratic Party 822,01146.0261,767,57349.441218
New Progressive Party 788,42644.1441,677,55846.9248
Puerto Rican Independence Party 138,1677.74197,6262.7301
Movimiento Unión Soberanista 11,8420.66016,3840.4600
Working People's Party 8,8910.5009,8590.2800
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party 3,2560.1804,6420.1300
Other parties2910.0201,1600.0300
Independents13,3270.7502430.0100
Total1,786,211100.00113,575,045100.001627
Valid votes1,786,21198.98
Invalid votes9,2930.51
Blank votes9,1930.51
Total votes1,804,697100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,402,94175.10
Source: Puerto Rico Election Archive

House of Representatives

The PPD also won a majority of seats in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, with a total of 28 out of 51. The PNP won a total of 23 seats. The other minority parties won no seats. Like with the Senate, the PPD won the majority after two terms of being a minority.

PartyAt-largeDistrictTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Popular Democratic Party 842,51346.936884,67748.922228
New Progressive Party 826,32346.035853,57147.201823
Puerto Rican Independence Party 87,7164.89048,6062.6900
Movimiento Unión Soberanista 22,1961.2407,5600.4200
Working People's Party 10,6560.5904,5060.2500
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party 4,5600.2508640.0500
Other parties4240.0208,5380.4700
Independents7390.0400
Total1,795,127100.00111,808,322100.004051
Valid votes1,795,12798.981,808,32298.99
Invalid votes9,2930.519,2930.51
Blank votes9,1930.519,1930.50
Total votes1,813,613100.001,826,808100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,402,94175.472,402,94176.02
Source: Puerto Rico Election Archive

Mayors

The PPD won a majority of the mayoralty races in the island, with a total of 46 out of 78 municipalities. The New Progressive Party (PNP) won a total of 31. One of the most notable races featured PPD candidate Carmen Yulín Cruz defeating incumbent Jorge Santini (PNP) for the mayoralty of the capital city of San Juan after 12 years in the seat.

PartyMayoralties
Popular Democratic Party 47
New Progressive Party 31
Puerto Rican Independence Party 0
Movimiento Unión Soberanista 0
Working People's Party 0
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party 0
Total78

Related Research Articles

The New Progressive Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates statehood. The PNP is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength and currently holds both the seat of the governor and of the resident commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Fortuño</span> Puerto Rican politician (born 1960)

Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bernier</span> Puerto Rican odontologist and politician

David Enrique "Quique" Bernier Rivera is a Puerto Rican dentist and politician that has served in various roles in public service in Puerto Rico. Bernier first served as executive director of the Office of Youth Affairs of Puerto Rico and was later confirmed as the youngest Secretary of Sports and Recreation of Puerto Rico in history. Four years later, he was unanimously confirmed as Secretary of State of Puerto Rico for the administration of Alejandro García Padilla. He was the 2016 candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico of the Popular Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Puerto Rican general election</span>

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, to elect the officials of the government that would serve for the next four years, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Pierluisi</span> Current Governor of Puerto Rico

Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer currently serving as governor of Puerto Rico since January 2, 2021. He has previously served as secretary of justice, resident commissioner, acting secretary of state, de facto governor of Puerto Rico and as private attorney for Puerto Rico's fiscal oversight board under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. He is a member of the New Progressive Party and the Democratic Party of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)</span> Political party in Puerto Rico

The Popular Democratic Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Puerto Rican Liberal Party and the Unionist Party and originally promoted policies on the centre-left. In recent years, however, its leaders have described the party as centrist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro García Padilla</span> Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Alejandro Javier García Padilla is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017.

Rafael Cox Alomar is a Puerto Rican lawyer, professor of law, author and 2012 candidate for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico primaries</span>

The 2008 New Progressive Party primaries were the primary elections by which voters of the New Progressive Party (PNP) chose its nominees for various political offices of Puerto Rico, namely the position of governor, for the 2008 general elections. Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño was selected as the nominee at the primary elections held on March 9, 2008. He would go on to win the 2008 general election as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico primaries</span>

The 2012 New Progressive Party primaries were the primary elections by which voters of the New Progressive Party (PNP) chose its nominees for various political offices of Puerto Rico for the 2012 general elections. They were held on March 18, 2012 and coincided with the Republican Party primaries in the island.

A referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico was held in Puerto Rico on November 6, 2012. It was the fourth referendum on status to be held in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since the Spanish–American War in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Puerto Rican constitutional referendum</span> Ballot measure in Puerto Rico

A constitutional referendum was held in Puerto Rico on 19 August 2012. Voters were asked whether they approve of two amendments to the constitution: one to eliminate the absolute right to bail and the other to decrease the number of members of the Legislative Assembly. Despite support from the party in government and part of the main opposition party, both amendments were rejected by voters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Puerto Rico Senate election</span>

The 2012 Puerto Rico Senate election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the members of the Senate of Puerto Rico for the next four years, from January 2, 2013, until January 1, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sovereigntism (Puerto Rico)</span> Movement to achieve sovereignty

The free association movement in Puerto Rico refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at changing the current political status of Puerto Rico to that of a sovereign freely associated state. Locally, the term soberanista refers to someone that seeks to redefine the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States to that of a compact with full sovereignty. The term is mostly used in reference to those that support a compact of free association or a variation of this formula, commonly known as Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) Soberano, between Puerto Rico and the United States. Members of the independence movement that are willing to pursue alliances with this ideology are occasionally referred to as such, but are mostly known as independentistas. Consequently, soberanismo then became the local name for the free association movement.

The 2012 Puerto Rico government transition process is the ongoing process in Puerto Rico regarding the government transition between the outgoing governorship of incumbent Governor Luis Fortuño and the incoming governorship of Alejandro García Padilla, governor-elect. The process is mandated and regulated by Law No. 197 of 2002 and started on November 13, 2012, three working days after the Puerto Rican general election of 2012 as the law requires, once García Padilla was preliminarily certified as Governor-elect by the State Elections Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Puerto Rican general election</span>

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government to serve from January 2017 to January 2021, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico. Ricardo Rosselló was elected governor and Jenniffer González-Colón was elected Resident Commissioner. The elections saw a 23 percentage point drop in turnout and was the lowest voter turnout in Puerto Rican history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana</span> Puerto Rican political party

Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana is a Puerto Rican political party founded in 2019. It ran in the 2020 general elections on an anti-colonial platform, proposing a constitutional assembly to determine a final decision regarding the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Puerto Rican general election</span>

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on November 3, 2020, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government who will serve from January 2021 to January 2025, most notably the position of Governor and Resident Commissioner. In addition, there was a non-binding status referendum to ask voters if Puerto Rico should become the 51st state of the Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Puerto Rican congressional delegation election</span> Election to determine Senators in Puerto Rico

A special election to elect shadow senators and shadow representatives from Puerto Rico was held on May 16, 2021. Voters chose two special delegates to the United States Senate and four special delegates to the United States House of Representatives. Their work is to demand that the US Congress respect and enforce the results of the 2020 status referendum, and admit Puerto Rico as the 51st state of the Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election</span>

Gubernatorial elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of Puerto Rico, concurrently with the election of the Resident Commissioner, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the mayors of the 78 municipalities. This election is historic as it marks the first time since 1952 in which a candidate from the Puerto Rican Independence Party came runner-up in a gubernatorial race, the first time since 1964 in which the incumbent governing party was re-elected after two terms in office, the second time Puerto Rico has elected a female governor, with the first time being in 2000 with Sila María Calderón. This election also saw the Popular Democratic Party lose control of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico and finish third for the first time in its entire history in a gubernatorial election, albeit retaining a majority of mayoral races and its candidate for Resident Commissioner, Pablo Hernández Rivera, won in a landslide.

References

  1. ↑ "Electoral Calendar - international elections world elections" . Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  2. ↑ Díaz, Carmen (June 24, 2012). "Elección para la historia". El Vocero. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno loses re-election". Voxxi . November 7, 2012. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Luis Fortuño anuncia su candidatura a la reelección a gobernador de Puerto Rico en 2012". WKAQ 580 . October 7, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ Bliss, Peggy Ann (August 1, 2011). "González Cancel launches NPP primary fight". Puerto Rico Daily Sun. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Cordero, Gerardo (September 5, 2012). "Sigue la espera por decisión judicial el médico Iván González Cancel". El Nuevo Día . Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  7. ↑ Gómez, Antonio (March 7, 2011). "Alejandro García Padilla se tira de pecho". Primera Hora . Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  8. ↑ "PIP presents campaign staff and government program". Puerto Rico Daily Sun. January 30, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Rogelio Figueroa lanza su campaña como candidato a la gobernación". Archived from the original on February 21, 2013.
  10. ↑ "MUS ratifuca sus candidatos para las elecciones generales". RedBetances.
  11. ↑ "MUS elige a Arturo Hernández como candidato a gobernador". El Vocero. August 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013.
  12. ↑ Rivera, Ivelisse (June 16, 2012). "Rafael Bernabe es el candidato a la gobernación por el PPT". Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Fortuño no ha cumplido 20 de 24 promesas sobre criminalidad". NotiCel. October 6, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ Cordero, Gerardo and Rebecca Banuchi (October 31, 2012). "Dúo PNP ataca récord legislativo de García Padilla". El Nuevo Día . Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ Rodríguez, Israel (October 27, 2012). "Un mensaje claro y más contacto". El Nuevo Día . Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  16. ↑ Rivera, Aurora (November 4, 2012). "Promete el PPT que seguirá en pie de lucha". El Nuevo Día . Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  17. ↑ "El Gran Debate acapara la teleaudiencia". El Nuevo Día . Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Luis Fortuño acepta su derrota". El Nuevo Día . November 7, 2012. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.