SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Get together was main polls early Wednesday in a historic gubernatorial election that would see her social gathering safe a 3rd consecutive time period for the primary time.
González had 39%, or 438,183 votes with 91% of precincts reporting, based on Puerto Rico’s State Elections Fee.
Coming in second up to now was Juan Dalmau, who ran for Puerto Rico’s Independence Get together and Citizen Victory Motion. He obtained 33% or 364,145 of votes, making him the primary candidate from outdoors the 2 island’s two essential events to complete second in Puerto Rico’s common election.
No winner has been licensed, Jessica Padilla, the fee’s alternate president, mentioned at a information convention early Wednesday.
“There are nonetheless votes in strategy of being counted,” she mentioned.
Whereas González claimed a win, Dalmau mentioned his social gathering would wait till each vote had been counted.
“That is the start of a wonderful transformation of our nation,” he mentioned late Tuesday. Thanks for serving to me make historical past.”
The Well-liked Democratic Get together, a serious social gathering that helps the island’s standing as a U.S. territory, was pushed into third place as its candidate Jesús Manuel Ortiz obtained 21% or 233,470 votes. In the meantime, Javier Jiménez of Venture Dignity, a conservative social gathering, obtained 7% of the vote.
The winner will exchange Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, who was defeated by González in an upset in a main election that was held in June by their New Progressive Get together.
Within the race to turn out to be Puerto Rico’s new consultant in U.S. Congress, Pablo José Hernández of the Well-liked Democratic Get together was main. He obtained 46% of the vote in contrast with 35% for William Villafañe of the pro-statehood social gathering, based on partial outcomes.
Dashed hopes
Dalmau’s robust displaying was an indication of a rising physique of voters who’re giving up on the island’s two established events.
A rising variety of voters young and old have mentioned they had been uninterested in persistent corruption, power energy outages and a scarcity of inexpensive housing, amongst different issues. Their seek for new leaders has begun to loosen the maintain that the New Progressive Get together and the Well-liked Democratic Get together had over Puerto Rico’s politics for many years.
Voters like Aisha Rodríguez Díaz, 37, mentioned that Tuesday’s election gave them hope {that a} third-party candidate would win quickly.
“They’ve already made historical past,” she mentioned referring to the alliance between Puerto Rico’s Independence Get together and the Citizen Victory Motion.
A query of standing
On Tuesday, voters additionally thought of a seventh nonbinding referendum about Puerto Rico’s political standing.
It supplied three choices: statehood, independence and independence with free affiliation, below which points like overseas affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. greenback can be negotiated.
Statehood obtained 57% of votes adopted by independence with 31%, the primary time that possibility clinched second place. Greater than 165,000 ballots had been left clean.
Whatever the referendum’s consequence, a change in standing requires approval from the U.S. Congress.
Get together officers have lengthy mentioned that regardless of being part of america. Puerto Rico receives unequal remedy in relation to Medicaid, Medicare and different federal packages.
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