Lawyer,Lobbyist,Political Campaign Manager,Investor and Entrepreneur
Francisco J. Domenech (born April 29,1978,in San Juan,Puerto Rico) since January 2,2025,is serving as the Chief of Staff of Puerto Rico's Government and as the Executive Director of The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF,its Spanish acronym). He 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,[1] and Forest High School.[2]
DNC Superdelegate and Democratic Party Conventions
Domenech was a delegate to four (4) Democratic National Conventions in 2004,[3] 2008,[4] 2012,[5] and 2016.[6] By virtue of the position he held for more than five (5) years in the Democratic National Committee,[7] representing the Young Democrats of America (YDA),as their Democratic National Committeeman,he was a Superdelegate to the 2008 and 2012 Conventions. During the 2004 Convention,Domenech served as one of the whips for the Puerto Rico Delegation. During the 2016 Puerto Rico Democratic primary campaign,Domenech was Hillary Clinton's top fundraiser in the U.S. territory and attended his fourth consecutive Democratic National Convention,after being elected as a Delegate representing his Bayamón Senatorial District.
Political career and campaign management
Francisco Domenech is the most successful manager of Island-wide campaigns in Puerto Rico's history,with a record of 7-0 wins. Since 2008,he has contributed his management,strategic,and political skills to the overwhelming victories of female candidates in presidential,gubernatorial,and congressional primaries,and in congressional elections. Primarily working for Hillary Clinton and Jenniffer González Colón.
In 2008 and 2016,Domenech served as the campaign manager in Puerto Rico for Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton overwhelmingly won both of these primaries,with 68% of the vote in 2008 (to Barack Obama’s 32%)[8] and with 62% of the vote in 2016 (to Bernie Sanders' 38%).[9]
In 2015- 2016,Domenech served as campaign manager for Jenniffer González Colón’s historic primary and election campaigns for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico non-voting seat in Congress. In the primaries,González Colón beat her opponent,former gubernatorial candidate Carlos I. Pesquera,71% to 29%,securing the NPP's nomination for Resident Commissioner in the general elections.[10] Her running mate,future governor Ricardo Rosselló barely beat his opponent,future governor Pedro Pierluisi,51% to 49%.[11] That year,González Colón went on to secure the congressional seat in the general elections,garnering the most votes of any other candidate in the election.[12] On November 8,2016,and after 15 months of campaigning,Domenech successfully led a campaign team that made history by electing the first woman in 115 years since the Resident Commissioner position had been created back in 1902,and youngest person to represent Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress.[13]
During the 2019-2020 election cycle,which redefined all the rules for running a political campaign due to the impact of COVID-19 Mr. Domenech once again served as Congresswoman González's campaign manager for her re-election bid to another four (4) year term as Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner in Congress.[14] Ms. González comfortably defeated her four (4) opponents,winning her re-election by 41.18% of the vote,with a 9% lead over closest opponent.[15] She also achieved the most votes out of any candidates running for any elected office on the Island.[16]
Jenniffer Gonzalez and Francisco Domenech during a December 20,2023,press conference announcing him as her campaign manager
In 2024,Jenniffer González Colón for the third time entrusted Domenech[17][18] with the management of her primary campaign to become the NPP's candidate for governor in the November 5,2024,general elections. Her successful primary campaign was particularly challenging since she ran against an incumbent elected governor from her own party,Pedro Pierluisi,[19] who held a 5-to-2 financial advantage and,as president of the NPP,controlled the political machinery of the party. Consistent with the polling throughout the primary campaign,González Colón comfortably prevailed over the incumbent governor by a 10-point margin,beating him in 7 of the 8 senatorial districts and in 62 of the 78 municipalities,[20] thus becoming the first female candidate for governor for the NPP in the party's history and the first person to ever defeat an elected incumbent governor from her own political party. For nine (9) months Domenech led a small team of experienced political operatives,using new and innovative political campaign tactics,[21] to arguably achieve the biggest political upset in Puerto Rico history.
On November 5,González Colón handedly won the governorship by an over 9% margin of victory against four (4) opponents,[22] thus becoming only the second woman in Puerto Rico’s history to be elected as Governor,and the first woman elected to such position from the NPP. She also helped carry her Party to achieve overwhelming majorities in both houses of the local legislature.
In the political sphere,Domenech has always been an ardent supporter of admitting Puerto Rico as the 51st state of the United States. During his early political career,in May 2003,he became the founding President of the Puerto Rico Young Democrats (PRYD). During his tenure as President of the PRYD's,Domenech led a team of 14 young Puerto Rican professionals in Central Florida that campaigned for several weeks for the Kerry/Edwards ticket. He also volunteered extensively during 2003–2004 in former Gov. Pedro Rosselló's gubernatorial campaign,both in island-wide political organizing,as well as platform and opposition research activities. In November 2004,Domenech also organized and hosted YDA's Fall National meeting in San Juan,Puerto Rico. Domenech then was elected as a national officer of YDA in 2005 as Vice President for Development and on July 21,2007[23] became a member of the DNC,[24] when YDA's national convention elected him as its Democratic National Committeeman. In 2010 he was reelected for his third and last term as YDA's Democratic National Committeeman before he aged out of the youth organization. During the last years of his active participation in YDA,Domenech was a co-founder of the YDA Hispanic Caucus. Domenech is the only person in the history of the Young Democrats of America to have served as a national officer for seven (7) consecutive years,two (2) years as a Vice President and five years (5) as Democratic National Committeeman.[25]
Following in the footsteps of many Democratic leaders,such as the young Hillary Clinton who registered Hispanics in Southwest Texas in the 70's,Domenech led voter registration drives aimed at potential Puerto Rican voters in Florida's I-4 Corridor in several election cycles between 2004 and 2010,staffed by YDA Puerto Rico chapter volunteers.
In December 2007,Domenech was appointed by Senator Hillary Clinton to Co-Chair her presidential campaign's Hillblazers,a national network of young professionals and students. He also served as Deputy State Coordinator of Sen. Clinton's successful primary campaign in Puerto Rico,where she polled a 68–32 margin over Sen. Obama in the June 1,2008 Puerto Rico Democratic primary,2008.
Domenech served as one of the national co-finance chairs of Ready for Hillary,[26] and coordinated fundraisers for the super PAC in and out of Puerto Rico,from California to Washington,D.C.[27][28] He served on the National Finance Committee for Hillary Clinton presidential campaign,2016,[29] was her top fundraising bundler from Puerto Rico,[30] assisted in organizing her first campaign trip to Puerto Rico in the current election cycle,which took place on September 4,2015. He additionally served as the campaign manager[31] for her successful primary camping in Puerto Rico,where she polled a 61–37,[32] margin of victory over Sen. Sanders in the June 5,2016 Puerto Rico Democratic primary,2016.
In early 2013,the Puerto Rico Supreme Court in Domenech Fernández v. Integration Corporate Services,et al[38] ruled unanimously in his favor in a case arising from a shareholders' dispute within the firm for which he had previously worked. In the Supreme Court's Opinion,in which the Court for the first time interprets Puerto Rico's 2009 Corporations Law,it ruled that whenever fraud or irregularities are alleged in the keeping of a corporation's records,as Domenech alleged,evidence extraneous to the corporate records will be admitted.[39]
In 2010 he founded and led until December 2024 Politank*,Corp.[40] a bipartisan government affairs firm in Puerto Rico which has represented Fortune 500 clients,and which hired Puerto Rico's former Secretary of State and Senate President Kenneth McClintock and at one point Guillermo San Antonio-Acha,former Legal Counsel to the Governor during GovernorAníbal Acevedo Vilá's administration and who served from late 2014 until early 2017 as the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD) Electoral Commissioner.[41]
He managed three (3) successful presidential campaigns within the Puerto Rico Physicians Association,[42] the statutorily created organization to which the islands' approximately 11,000 physicians mandatorily belong,to elect in 2014,reelect in 2016,and again reelect in 2018 the organization's current president,Dr. Víctor Ramos. The reelection of Ramos on April 10,2016,resulted in a majority of 71.6% in a three-way race.[43][44] The third re-election of Dr. Ramos,led by Domenech,took place on April 22,2018,by another comfortable margin of 67% [45] of all the votes cast. It was an even more historical feat than his two prior victories led by Domenech,because in the 25 years of the Colegio Médico's existence,no one candidate had ever been elected three (3) times to its presidency.
Mr. Domenech is also an investor in the public markets,in closed end funds,and startups on which he sits on the board of directors.
A twice graduate of the University of Puerto Rico,Río Piedras campus,(UPR) first in 1999 when he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science,and then in 2003 when he obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. During his years at UPR,Domenech was President of the General Student Body Council during the 1999–2000 academic year,a position that had never been held by a statehooder before or since him.[58] During that same year he also served as an Academic Senator before the UPR Río Piedras campus Academic Senate. Prior to that,from 1998 to 1999,Domenech was UPR's College of Social Sciences Student Body President.[59]
Domenech is also second cousin of the former Commonwealth of Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources,[63]Douglas Domenech who served in the Bush Administration as Deputy Chief of Staff for the United States Department of the Interior and who also served as Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior under the Trump Administration.[64]
Related Research Articles
The New Progressive Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates for statehood. The PNP is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength and currently holds the seat of the governor.
Jenniffer La Goldi González Colón is a Puerto Rican politician who is currently serving as the governor of Puerto Rico since 2025. She previously served as the 20th resident commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2025. González-Colón has also held leadership positions in the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP) and the Republican Party of the United States,including being chair of the Puerto Rico Republican Party,speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico,and vice-chair of the PNP. She is the second elected and third serving female governor,after Sila María Calderón and Wanda Vázquez Garced,and she is also the first and only woman to be elected or serve as Resident Commissioner.
Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 2021 to 2025,having previously been the de facto governor from August 2–7,2019. A member of New Progressive and Democratic Parties,he previously served as acting Secretary of State of Puerto Rico in 2019,as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2017,and as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1997. He was formerly a private attorney for Puerto Rico's fiscal oversight board under the Puerto Rico Oversight,Management,and Economic Stability Act.
The Puerto Rico Statehood Commission was a grassroots non-partisan organization dedicated to research and education on Puerto Rico statehood.
The 2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary took place on June 1,2008. It was an open primary. Puerto Rico initially planned to hold caucuses,as was done in 2000 and 2004,on June 7,2008. In December 2007,an error in the plan was discovered;the caucus date should have read June 1,2008. Puerto Rico also decided to conduct a primary,rather than caucuses. Puerto Rico sent 55 pledged delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. These delegates were allotted on a proportional basis. The territory's delegation also included eight unpledged "superdelegates". Puerto Rico also selected one unpledged add-on delegate. Selection of the unpledged add-on delegate occurred at the Assembly of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on June 21,2008,in San Juan. Polls were open from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm,prevailing local time,Atlantic Standard Time (AST). Hillary Clinton won the primary.
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 Young Democrats of America Puerto Rico Chapter is a non-profit political corporation organized pursuant to General Corporate Law of Puerto Rico and duly registered in the Department of State of Puerto Rico.
Jorge Colberg Toro is a Puerto Rican politician. He served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 2003 to 2013. He also was Secretary for Public Affairs for Governors Sila M. Calderon and Alejandro García Padilla and Secretary General of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP). He is a government and public Policy College Professor at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico,a political,legislative and government consultant,speechwriter and a television and radio political analyst.
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.
Eric Adniel Alfaro Calero is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from April 11,2011,to January 1,2013,representing District 16. Alfaro was appointed to fill the vacant seat of expelled representative Iván Rodríguez Traverzo.
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 Rossellówas 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.
The 2016 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary took place on June 5 in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The 2016 New Progressive Party primaries was the primary elections by which voters of the New Progressive Party (PNP) chose its nominees for various political offices of Puerto Rico for the 2016 general elections. They were held on June 5,2016,and also coincided with the Democratic Party primaries in the island.
The 2020 New Progressive Party primaries was the primary elections by which voters of the New Progressive Party (PNP) chose its nominees for various political offices of Puerto Rico for 2020. The primaries,originally scheduled for June 2020,were delayed until August 9,2020,due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The August 9 elections,however,were marred by a lack of ballots leading a suspension of the election;polling locations that could not open on August 9 were scheduled to be open for voting on August 16. The winner for the party's nomination for Governor of Puerto Rico is Pedro Pierluisi,former Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and acting Governor after Ricardo Rosselló's resignation,over incumbent Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced.
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.
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.
United States gubernatorial elections were 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 held elections for their governors. This was also the first time since 1988 that a Republican nominee won the gubernatorial election in American Samoa and also the first time since 1996 that an incumbent governor there lost re-election.
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.
The 2024 United States House of Representatives election in Puerto Rico to elect the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico were held on November 5,2024. The election of the Resident Commissioner was held concurrently with the larger 2024 United States House of Representatives elections,the 2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election,and other U.S. federal and Puerto Rican general election races.
Verónica Ferraiuoli Hornedo is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer designated by the governor to be the secretary of state of Puerto Rico since 2025.
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.
