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Pablo José Hernández Rivera, poised to be Puerto Rico’s next resident commissioner in the United States Congress, dismissed the notion of leading the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday, asserting that the political status is not currently a concern.
He also refuted claims that the PDP is at a pivotal moment following the outcome of Tuesday’s elections.
“There has been much discussion suggesting that the Popular Democratic Party is at a crucial point,” Hernández Rivera stated during a press briefing. “… And the reality is that even though we experienced an unfortunate outcome in the governorship, we also achieved historic milestones. We secured more mayoralties than last time, and regarding the resident commissioner’s victory, if the current tally remains, it represents the largest margin of victory for a Popular Democratic Party candidate in the state election since 1964.”
“The outcome of [Tuesday’s] state ballot, while disappointing for the governorship, is one we haven’t observed since Luis Muñoz Marín was on the Popular Party ticket,” he continued. “Given this context and these circumstances, my message to the ‘populares’ is that there is a future ahead.”
As of around 2 p.m. Wednesday, based on the latest vote count from the State Elections Commission, Hernández Rivera held a strong lead in the resident commissioner race, garnering 44.55% of the vote (472,292 votes). William Villafañe Ramos from the New Progressive Party had 35.05% (371,470 votes), Ana Irma Rivera Lassén from the Citizen Victory Movement-Puerto Rican Independence Party Alliance received 10% (106,025 votes), Roberto Karlo Velazquez Correa from the Puerto Rico Independence Party had 5.23% (55,383 votes), and Viviana Ramírez Morales of the Dignity Project was at 5.20% with 55,088 votes.
Hernández Rivera stated he is not interested in leading the Popular Democratic Party with an eye on the 2028 election.
“I was elected by the people to serve as their resident commissioner, not to launch a campaign for an election four years out,” he remarked. “Regarding the PDP presidency, I believe there is a president in place, and that individual should be given the opportunity to make decisions about their political future. I will not apply any pressure concerning the PDP presidency. We have ample time to discuss this in the upcoming weeks.”
On the topic of status and the governor-elect’s assertion regarding statehood, Hernández Rivera reiterated that it is not among his priorities.
“As I mentioned throughout the campaign, I do not acknowledge the legitimacy of that [Tuesday’s status] plebiscite, as it is non-binding and did not provide the option to maintain and enhance the Free Associated State,” he said. “Moreover, I contend that the plebiscite results indicate a regression for statehood, since when combining the votes for independence, Free Association, and blank and void votes—those that the PDP advocated for—statehood declines from the 52% it achieved in 2020 to 47 or 48%, indicating it no longer holds a majority.”
“Additionally, I’ve noted recent remarks from Mitch McConnell, the outgoing leader of the Republican [Senate] minority, as I understand a new majority leader will be elected. With Republicans in control of Congress, he stated that one of their priorities will be not admitting new states that might disrupt the partisan balance. This illustrates clearly that they will not support any initiatives that could render statehood feasible for Puerto Rico. Therefore, I believe it is prudent to set this issue aside and concentrate on the country’s true priorities, which include economic development, parity in federal programs, and rebuilding the [electric power] infrastructure,” Hernández Rivera stated. “Highlighting that with Donald Trump and the Republicans’ Senate victory, the outlook appears more complicated for parity in federal programs due to that party’s fiscally conservative stance and its resistance to such initiatives. In this regard, we hope to collaborate with the [resident] commissioner [potential governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón], who represents the highest-ranking Republican in Puerto Rico, to advance these efforts. And she is aware that she can rely on my full support in terms of economic development initiatives and achieving parity in federal programs for Puerto Rico.”
