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Although Puerto Rico does not participate in U.S. presidential general elections because it is an unincorporated territory and not a state, and therefore cannot send members to the U.S. Electoral College, Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States and participate in the U.S. presidential primaries. [1] Straw polls were introduced with Act No. 58 of 2020 by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party majority. [2]
The 2024 Puerto Rico Republican presidential primary will be held on March 10, 2024, where 23 delegates will be allocated on a winner-takes-most basis. [3]
Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Caribbean island, Commonwealth, and unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. With roughly 3.2 million residents, it is divided into 78 municipalities, of which the most populous is the capital municipality of San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of the executive branch of government, though Spanish predominates.
The politics of Puerto Rico take place in the framework of a democratic republic form of government that is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States Congress as an organized unincorporated territory. Since the 1898 invasion of Puerto Rico by the United States during the Spanish–American War, politics in Puerto Rico have been significantly shaped by its status as territory of the United States. The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, in the United States, the United Nations and the international community, with all major political parties in the archipelago calling it a colonial relationship.
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.
Jenniffer Aydin González Colón is a Puerto Rican politician who serves as the 20th Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. González has served in leadership positions in the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP) and in the Republican Party of the United States. These positions included being the chairwoman of the Puerto Rico Republican Party, speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, and vice-chair of the PNP. González is the youngest person to be Resident Commissioner and the first woman to hold the role.
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.
Francisco J. Domenech is a former director of the Office of Legislative Services of Puerto Rico (2005–2008), a lawyer, and a professional political campaign manager. Domenech spent part of his childhood and adolescent years, in Ocala, Florida, having attended Blessed Trinity Catholic School, and Forest High School.
The Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is the local affiliate of the U.S. National Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Party membership consists of supporters of both the current Commonwealth status and those who favor statehood for Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rico statehood movement aims to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territorial possession of the United States acquired in 1898 following the Spanish–American War, making it "the oldest colony in the modern world". As of 2023, the population of Puerto Rico is 3.2 million, around half the average state population and higher than that of 19 U.S. states. Statehood is one of several competing options for the future political status of Puerto Rico, including: maintaining its current status, becoming fully independent, or becoming a freely associated state. Puerto Rico has held six referendums on the topic. These are non-binding, as the power to grant statehood lies with the US Congress. The most recent referendum was in November 2020, with a majority (52.52%) of those who voted opting for statehood.
The Republican Party of Puerto Rico is the local affiliate of the national United States Republican Party in Puerto Rico. The affiliation started in 1903. The party does not participate in the November elections mandated by the Constitution of Puerto Rico for local registered political parties because it is not a registered party in Puerto Rico for local electoral purposes. Instead, the party holds its own elections to select the Puerto Rico delegates to the Republican National Convention and holds presidential primaries on the last Sunday of February.
Although Puerto Rico does not participate in U.S. presidential general elections because it is an unincorporated territory and not a state, and therefore cannot send members to the U.S. Electoral College, Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States and do participate in the U.S. presidential primaries.
Events in the year 2020 in Puerto Rico.
This is a timeline of major events leading up to, during, and after the 2024 United States presidential election. This will be the first presidential election to be run with population data from the 2020 census. In addition to the dates mandated by the relevant federal laws such as those in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, several milestones have consistently been observed since the adoption of the conclusions of the 1971 McGovern–Fraser Commission.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between January 15, 2024, and June 4, 2024, ahead of the 2024 United States presidential election. These elections selected most of the 2,429 delegates to be sent to the Republican National Convention. Former president Donald Trump was nominated for president of the United States for a third consecutive election cycle.
A referendum of the status of Puerto Rico was held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with the general election. The Referendum was announced by Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced on May 16, 2020. This was the sixth referendum held on the status of Puerto Rico, with the previous one having taken place in 2017. This was the first referendum with a simple yes-or-no question, with voters having the option of voting for or against becoming a U.S. state. The New Progressive Party (PNP), of whom Vázquez is a member, supports statehood, while the opposition Popular Democratic Party (PDP) and Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) oppose it.
United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, in 11 states and two territories. The previous gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2020, except in New Hampshire and Vermont where governors only serve two-year terms and elected their governors in 2022. In addition to state gubernatorial elections, the territories of American Samoa and Puerto Rico will also hold elections for their governors.
The 2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election will be held on 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. Incumbent New Progressive Party Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia ran for re-election to a second term in office, but lost the PNP primary to Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon.
The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections, to elect representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states, as well as 6 non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and the inhabited U.S. territories to the United States House of Representatives. Special elections have also been held on various dates in 2024. Numerous other federal, state, and local elections, including the U.S. presidential election and elections to the Senate, will also be held on this date. The winners of this election will serve in the 119th United States Congress, with seats apportioned among the states based on the 2020 United States census.
The 2024 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary was held on April 28, 2024, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 60 delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be allocated to presidential candidates. Incumbent President Joe Biden won the primary.
The 2000 Puerto Rico Republican presidential primary was held on February 27, 2000, as part of the Republican Party primaries for the 2000 presidential election. 14 delegates to the Republican National Convention were allocated to presidential candidates.
Although Puerto Rico does not participate in U.S. presidential general elections because it is an unincorporated territory and not a state, and therefore cannot send members to the U.S. Electoral College, Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States and participate in the U.S. presidential primaries and caucuses.
