Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi loses re-election bid in surprise primary upset
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi conceded defeat Sunday night after losing a primary election against Rep. Jenniffer GonzĂĄlez, the island’s resident commissioner and nonvoting member of Congress, effectively ending the governor’s re-election bid.
In a speech, Pierluisi labeled the defeat as âvery painfulâ and unexpected while also congratulating GonzĂĄlez on her win and wishing her success as the gubernatorial candidate for Puerto Rico’s ruling party, the New Progressive Party, or PNP, which favors statehood.
With 76% of the votes counted early Monday morning, GonzĂĄlez obtained 136,281 votes (56%) while Pierluisi got 105,548 (44%), according to Puerto Rico’s electoral commission.
The surprise upset came four years after GonzĂĄlez and Pierluisi ran on a joint ticket to win their current seats. At the time, they presented a united front as they attempted to clean the party’s image following the resignation of disgraced pro-statehood governor Ricardo RossellĂł after being marred in scandal over leaked private chats.
Unlike the U.S. mainland, political parties on the island are based on ideals about Puerto Rico’s territorial status. But as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rican public officials often need to align with a mainland party.
While Pierluisi and GonzĂĄlez both belong to the pro-statehood party, Pierluisi is a Democrat and GonzĂĄlez is a Republican.
GonzĂĄlez celebrated her win alongside crowds of cheerful supporters.
“Today is a special day for me, for my family, for my team and for all Puerto Ricans who opted for change,” GonzĂĄlez said. “I am going to be a governor who is going to be on the streets all the time.”
GonzĂĄlez is the first female gubernatorial candidate to secure a primary win for the New Progressive Party. Puerto Rico elected Sila MarĂa CalderĂłn of the Popular Democratic Party, or PPD, as its first female governor in 2000.
The PPD, which supports the islandâs current territorial status, also had its primary Sunday. Puerto Rico Rep. JesĂșs Manuel Ortiz JesĂșs Manuel Ortiz defeated Sen. Juan Zaragoza by a wide margin.
Ortiz and GonzĂĄlez will face each other and third candidate Juan Dalmau of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, or PIP, in the general election on Nov. 5.
As results trickled in late Sunday night, the electoral commission’s website crashed, frustrating many who were closely following the primaries.
Officials said they rushed to fix the problem, saying they did not know what caused the site to crash but that U.S. Homeland Security and other agencies were helping.
âIf it were necessary to activate the FBI given the situation, we will do it,â said Jessika Padilla, the commissionâs interim president.
Power outages were also reported at more than a dozen voting centers, including one where Ortiz arrived to cast his vote. The outages forced officials to revert to a manual process. Power outages have become increasingly more common in Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory awaits the reconstruction of its power grid since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017.
Aware of this, officials of Puerto Ricoâs electoral commission rented more than a dozen generators and a private power company identified 81 alternate voting sites with guaranteed electricity.