2012 Puerto Rico Senate election

Last updated June 28, 2023

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.

Background

After the previous election, the New Progressive Party augmented their majority within the Senate of Puerto Rico with 22 seats versus only 5 seats from the Popular Democratic Party. By virtue of the Minority Law of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, four more senators from the PPD were added to complete a full minority. Also, for the first time in 27 years, the Puerto Rican Independence Party was left without a senator.

During the four years after the 2008 elections, the Senate of Puerto Rico was affected by scandals of corruption and ethics that resulted in the resignation of three members from the PNP delegation (Roberto Arango, Héctor Martínez, Antonio Soto Díaz). Also, one of the members of the PPD delegation (Eder Ortíz Ortíz) resigned to become Electoral Commissioner of the party. All four seats were filled before the elections.

Of the 31 seating senators, 2 were defeated in the primaries held in March for both parties, 2 decided to run for different positions, and 2 decided not to run for reelection. This resulted in 25 incumbent senators running for reelection (19 from the PNP, 6 from the PPD). In addition, 56 new candidates were running for seats for the six different parties, while two ran independent.

Summary

Change in composition

Senate composition before the elections

PNP₁	PNP₂	PNP₃	PNP₄	PNP₅	PNP₆	PNP₇	PNP₈	PNP₉
PNP₁₀	PNP₁₁	PNP₁₂	PNP₁₃	PNP₁₄	PNP₁₅	PNP₁₆	PNP₁₇	PNP₁₈
PNP₁₉	PNP₂₀	PNP₂₁	PNP₂₂	PPD₁	PPD₂	PPD₃	PPD₄	PPD₅
PPD₆	PPD₇	PPD₈	PPD₉

Senate composition as a result of the elections

PPD₁	PPD₂	PPD₃	PPD₄	PPD₅	PPD₆	PPD₇	PPD₈	PPD₉
PPD₁₀	PPD₁₁	PPD₁₂	PPD₁₃	PPD₁₄	PPD₁₅	PPD₁₆	PPD₁₇	PPD₁₈
PNP₁	PNP₂	PNP₃	PNP₄	PNP₅	PNP₆	PNP₇	PNP₈	PIP₁

Results

Senators at-large

2012 Senators at-large^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Thomas Rivera Schatz	154,983	8.66	+0.07
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Eduardo Bhatia	149,781	8.37	+1.64
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Angel Rosa	139,132	7.78	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Antonio Fas Alzamora	138,275	7.73	+0.82
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Rossana López	136,914	7.65	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Aníbal José Torres	131,216	7.34	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Larry Seilhamer	129,918	7.26	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Itzamar Peña Ramírez	127,529	7.13	-0.23
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Margarita Nolasco	127,049	7.10	-0.74
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	María de Lourdes Santiago	126,635	7.08	+2.23
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Cirilo Tirado Rivera	126,489	7.07	+0.35

	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Melinda Romero	126,122	7.05	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Lucy Arce	123,542	6.91	-1.03
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	José "Che" Paraliticci	10,905	0.61	—
	Independent	Herminio Pagán Calderín	9,133	0.51	—
	Worker's People Party of Puerto Rico (PPT)	Ineabelle Colón	7,878	0.44	—
	Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR)	Carmen M. Sánchez Betancourt	2,987	0.17	—
Total votes			1,788,619	100

Incumbent at-large senators Kimmey Raschke and José Emilio González (from the PNP) were defeated in the primaries held earlier in the year. Also, senator Alejandro García Padilla was running for Governor for the PPD, while Norma Burgos was running for Mayor of Caguas for the PNP. Senators Sila María González Calderón and Juan Eugenio Hernández Mayoral decided not to run for reelection.

After the election, two at-large incumbents from the PNP (Lucy Arce and Melinda Romero) lost, while the PPD managed to seat all their candidates to senators at-large. Also, María de Lourdes Santiago (from the PIP) regained a seat after losing her seat in the previous election.

Although the PPD won a majority of seats, the candidate with the most votes was the incumbent President of the Senate Thomas Rivera Schatz (from the PNP). PPD candidate Antonio Fas Alzamora won his tenth consecutive term as senator, becoming the longest tenured legislator in the island.^[2] On the other hand, candidates Angel Rosa, Rossana López, and Aníbal José Torres (from the PPD) won seats for the first time.

District

I - San Juan

District I - San Juan ^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	José Nadal Power	98,225	24.69	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Ramón Luis Nieves	96,378	24.22	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Zoé Laboy	90,102	22.64	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Liza Fernández	88,633	22.27	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Héctor J. González Pereira	7,530	1.89	+0.35
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Angel Alicea Montañez	6,969	1.75	—
	Worker's People Party of Puerto Rico (PPT)	José "Pepe" Córdova	3,646	0.92	—
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Isabel Borrás Marín	3,310	0.83	—
	Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR)	Fred Guillont Juarbe	877	0.22	—
Total votes			397,907	100

PNP candidate Liza Fernández had been elected to the House of Representatives in the 2008 elections, but had won a special election to fill the vacant left by the resignation of Senator Roberto Arango. Zoé Laboy was running for the first time after serving as Secretary of the Department of Corrections in the 90s. The two candidates of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), José Nadal Power and Ramón Luis Nieves were also newcomers. After the election, Nadal Power and Nieves won the two district seats that had been in control of the New Progressive Party (PNP) for two consecutive terms.

II - Bayamón

District II - Bayamón ^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Migdalia Padilla	106,133	25.73	-2.31
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Carmelo Ríos	106, 125	25.73	-1.90
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Miguel Reyes Dávila	90,123	21.85	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	José Orlando Muñoz	89,939	21.80	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Víctor M. Caraballo	6,494	1.57	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	José A. Ojeda Santos	5,806	1.41	—
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Carlos Alberto Velázquez	2,598	0.63	—
	Worker's People Party of Puerto Rico (PPT)	Ruth E. Arroyo Muñoz	2,559	0.62	—
Total votes			412,484	100

III - Arecibo

District III - Arecibo ^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Angel "Chayanne" Martínez	117,857	24.68	-1.53
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	José "Joito" Pérez	117,297	24.56	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Wanda Arroyo	114,871	24.06	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Rubén Soto	112,674	23.60	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Jaime Bonel González	5,314	1.11	+0.23
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Luis Cruz	5,142	1.08	—
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Rafael Capella Angueira	1,735	0.36	—
Total votes			477,521	100

IV - Mayagüez

District IV - Mayagüez ^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	María Teresa González	125,353	26.55	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Gilberto Rodríguez	121,396	25.71	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Luis Daniel Muñíz	105,666	22.38	-3.31
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Evelyn Vázquez	103,042	21.82	-3.59
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Orlando Ruíz Pesante	5,594	1.18	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Samuel Soto Bosques	5,483	1.16	-0.57
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Alberto O. Lozada Colón	1,461	0.33	—
	Worker's People Party of Puerto Rico (PPT)	Edwin Morales Pérez	1,112	0.24	—
Total votes			472,183	100

V - Ponce

District V - Ponce ^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Ramón Ruiz	113,499	24.43	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Martín Vargas Morales	112,974	24.32	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Luis Berdiel	111,806	24.07	-1.44
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Eliezer Velázquez	111,454	23.99	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Luis Enrique Martínez	6,246	1.34	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Javier Maldonado Mercado	5,972	1.29	—
Total votes			464,546	100

VI - Guayama

District VI - Guayama ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Miguel Pereira	122,184	25.10	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Angel M. Rodríguez	120,336	24.72	+1.99
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Carlos Torres Torres	114,916	23.60	-1.59
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Miguel Rodríguez	113,877	23.39	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Edny Ramírez Pagán	5,287	1.20	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	José Enrique Laboy Gómez	5,758	1.18	—
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Roberto Colón Ocasio	1,127	0.23	—
	Independent	Benjamín "Bengie" León	200	0.04	—
Total votes			486,845	100

VII - Humacao

District VII - Humacao ^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	José Luis Dalmau	117,610	26.37	+2.65
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Jorge Suárez	114,165	25.60	+2.88
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	José Ramón Díaz	98,361	22.06	-2.02
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Luz M. Santiago	97,800	21.93	-2.14
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Maritza Algarín Sepúlveda	5,552	1.24	—
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Juan "Cholo" Lebrón	5,081	1.14	+0.18
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Vilma Calderón Jiménez	2,417	0.54	—
	Worker's People Party of Puerto Rico (PPT)	Carlos R. Mercado Cotto	1,378	0.31	—
	Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR)	José Luis "Tito" Dones	797	0.18	—
Total votes			445,970	100

VIII - Carolina

District VIII - Carolina ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Pedro A. Rodríguez	101,391	25.53	—
	Popular Democratic Party (PPD)	Luis Daniel Rivera	100,080	25.20	—
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Lornna Soto	91,216	22.97	-1.88
	New Progressive Party (PNP)	Roger Iglesias	86,584	21.80	-1.10
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Pedro José "Pepe" Alvarez	5,378	1.35	-1.75
	Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)	Dwight Rodríguez Orta	5,302	1.34	+0.36
	Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)	Guillermo Sosa Rodríguez	2,217	0.56	—
	Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR)	Fabiola Carrasquillo	1,309	0.33	-1.46
	Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR)	Edwin M. González	1,134	0.29	—
Total votes			397,097	100

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References

↑ "Senadores por Acumulación". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-16. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
↑ Rivera, Daniel (May 29, 2012). "Un legislador a la antigua". El Nuevo Día . Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial San Juan I". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Bayamón II". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Arecibo III". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Mayagüez IV". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Ponce V". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Guayama VI". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Humacao VII". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
↑ "Senadores por Distrito, Resultados Distrito Senatorial Carolina VIII". State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-11-11.