At the Democratic and Republican national conventions, Puerto Rican delegates supported their presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, despite both parties changing their platforms on Puerto Rico, which didn’t fully align with some delegates’ views on statehood or the island’s future.
At the Democratic convention in Chicago, the party’s platform backed a bipartisan bill, the Puerto Rico Status Act, which would let Puerto Ricans choose between statehood, independence, or sovereignty in free association with the U.S. This new stance excluded the option for Puerto Rico to remain a U.S. territory, a change from previous platforms in 2020 and 2016, where Democrats supported letting Puerto Ricans decide on maintaining their current territorial status.
Last month, Republicans removed their previous support for Puerto Rican statehood, which was included in their 2020 and 2016 platforms. The 2024 Republican platform made no specific mention of Puerto Rico’s status but stated that they would protect Americans in the territories, including Puerto Rico, due to their importance to national security.
Puerto Ricans on the island are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in presidential elections unless they move to the mainland, where they can register to vote. Puerto Ricans are the second-largest group of Latino eligible voters in the U.S. Although they can’t vote for president, they can participate in presidential primaries and send delegates to the national conventions.
The status of Puerto Rico is a deeply divisive issue, with most people supporting either the pro-statehood New Progressive Party or the Popular Democratic Party, which favors the current territorial status. A smaller group supports the Puerto Rican Independence Party, which advocates for independence from the U.S.
At the Democratic National Convention, all 60 of Puerto Rico’s delegates were present. The majority, 43, were from the pro-statehood party, 16 supported the current territorial status, and one was not affiliated with any party on the island.
Charlie Rodríguez, president of the Puerto Rico Democratic Party and a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, called Puerto Rico “the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the next state of the United States” during the Democratic convention’s roll call, joined by fellow pro-statehood delegates holding “USA” signs.
Before the convention, the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), which supports the current territorial status, decided not to endorse the Democratic Party’s new platform because of its support for the Puerto Rico Status Act. Jesús Manuel Ortiz, president of the PDP and a candidate for Puerto Rico governor, stated that party supporters “reject any undemocratic effort to exclude the commonwealth,” referring to the current status.
Most PDP-affiliated delegates did not attend the vote to approve the new Democratic platform, according to Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día. Despite their political differences, all delegates voted in favor of Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee.
Last month at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Puerto Rican delegates who support statehood faced a similar situation when Republicans removed statehood support from their platform. Even so, the Puerto Rico Republican Party, whose executive board members also belong to the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, fully backed Donald Trump, pledging all 23 of their delegates to him.
Support for Puerto Rico’s current status has been declining as more Puerto Ricans see their territorial relationship with the U.S. as a key factor in recent crises, including the federal response to Hurricane Maria, a decade-long financial crisis, and the federally imposed oversight board overseeing the largest public debt restructuring in U.S. history, which led to austerity measures like public worker layoffs and cuts to health care and education.
Despite these shifts, both the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) still have significant support on the island.
