# 2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election

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Gubernatorial elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of Puerto Rico, concurrently with the election of the Resident Commissioner, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the mayors of the 78 municipalities.
Two parties filed to hold a primary election: the New Progressive Party and the Popular Democratic Party. Incumbent New Progressive Party Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia ran for re-election to a second term in office, but lost the PNP primary to Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon. The Popular Democratic Party nominated Jesús Manuel Ortíz, a member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican Independence Party and Citizens' Victory Movement formed an electoral alliance, with both parties agreeing to support former member of the Senate of Puerto Rico, Juan Dalmau. However, since all registered parties are required to nominate a candidate for governor, Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana nominated dummy candidate Javier Córdova Iturregui. Project Dignity nominated San Sebastián mayor Javier Jiménez.
González Colón ultimately won the general election. This was the first Puerto Rico gubernatorial election since 1952 in which a candidate from the Independence Party finished second in a gubernatorial race, the first time since 1964 in which the incumbent governing party was re-elected after two terms in office, and the second time Puerto Rico has elected a female governor. This election also saw the Popular Democratic Party lose control of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico and finish third for the first time in its entire history in a gubernatorial election, albeit retaining a majority of mayoral races and flipping the office of Resident Commissioner.

## Parties
### New Progressive primary

On March 20, 2022, during the New Progressive Party's general assembly, governor Pedro Pierluisi announced that he would run for a second term. In an interview on August 28, he reaffirmed the press that he would be in fact running again, stating that "Puerto Rico is moving forward and there is no one who can stop us" and that they were "going to beat the PDP". Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón won the primary against Governor Pierluisi, becoming the first-ever female gubernatorial nominee for the New Progressive Party.

#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Jenniffer González Colón, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico

##### Eliminated in primary

* Pedro Pierluisi, incumbent governor

#### Endorsements

Federal officials
* Elmer Román, former director of mission integration in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and former Puerto Rico Secretary of State
Territorial legislators
* Carlos Johnny Méndez, territorial representative
* Yashira Lebrón Rodríguez, territorial representative
* Angel Peña Ramírez, territorial representative
Local officials
* Ramón Luis Rivera Jr., mayor of Bayamón
* María Vega Pagán, mayor of Vega Alta and former territorial representative
* 3 other mayors
State cabinet officials
* Larry Seilhamer, former Puerto Rico Secretary of State
Statewide officials
* Ricardo Rosselló, former Governor of Puerto Rico
Territorial legislators
* José Kikito Meléndez, territorial representative
* William Villafañe, territorial senator

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Pedro Pierluisi | Jenniffer González Colón | Others | Undecided |
| Pasquines | 22–30 May 2024 | 483 (RV) | – | 63% | 35% | 1% | 1% |
| Noticel and Atlas Intel | 8–12 October 2023 | 2,350 (A) | ± 2.0% | 50.4% | 42.4% | – | 6.1% |
| El Nuevo Día and The Research Office | 31 January – 5 February 2023 | ≈400 (A) | ± 6.0% | 25% | 64% | 3% | 3% |

#### Results

New Progressive primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | New Progressive | Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon | 159,527 | 54.57% |
| | New Progressive | Pedro Pierluisi (incumbent) | 132,805 | 45.43% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 292,332 | 100.0% |

### Popular Democratic primary

After suffering defeat in the 2020 elections, the Popular Democratic Party suffered a major divide on opinions, from the topic of abortion to what political status should the party pursue in the case of an 8th plebiscite. Some like the former party president José Luis Dalmau say that the party should keep supporting the current political status (ELA), while others within the party like former territorial senator Marco Rigau Jiménez stated that the party should move towards Free Association.
On June 16, 2022, while criticizing the party president José Dalmau, Morovis mayor Carmen Maldonado González challenged him, and announced that she would be running for governor. Later, on October 17, she officialized her candidacy in a press conference. Afterward, on January 18, 2023, she stated that she would run for president of the party. On May 7, after coming last on the presidency election, she conceded and announced that she would instead be running for re-election.
Territorial senator Juan Zaragoza Gómez announced his candidacy for governor during a press conference on September 13, 2022, saying that "If God gives me health, I'm going there". Zaragoza previously had announced that he would run for governor in the 2020 primary, before withdrawing his candidacy to run as territorial senator at-large.

#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Jesús Manuel Ortiz, territorial representative and president of the PPD

##### Eliminated in primary

* Juan Zaragoza, at-large territorial senator and former Puerto Rico Secretary of Treasury

##### Withdrawn

* Carlos Delgado Altieri, former mayor of Isabela and nominee for governor in 2020
* Carmen Maldonado González, mayor of Morovis

#### Endorsements

Territorial legislators
* Ramón Luis Cruz, territorial representative
* Migdalia González, territorial senator
* José Rivera Madera, territorial representative
* Juan J. Santiago Nieves, territorial representative
Local officials
* Pedro García Figueroa, mayor of Hormigueros
* Juan Carlos García Padilla, mayor of Coamo
* Gregory González, mayor of Peñuelas
* Ramón Hernández Torres, mayor of Juana Díaz
State cabinet officials
* Idalia Colón Roldón, former secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of the Family
Territorial legislators
* Javier Aponte Dalmau, territorial senator
* Charlie Hernández, former territorial representative
Local officials
* Julio Roldán Concepción, mayor of Aguadilla

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jesús Manuel Ortiz | Carlos Delgado Altieri | José Luis Dalmau | Juan Zaragoza | Luis Javier Hernández | Carmen Maldonado González | Others | Undecided / Abstain |
| El Nuevo Día and The Research Office | 24–29 October 2023 | ≈1,000 (A) | ± 6.0% | 30% | 26% | 17% | 13% | 13% | – | – | 1% |
| Noticel and Atlas Intel | 8 – 12 October 2023 | ≈2,350 (A) | ± 6.0% | 42.6% | 16.4% | 5.6% | 3.8% | 17.3% | – | – | 14.4% |
| El Nuevo Día and The Research Office | 31 January – 5 February 2023 | ≈400 (A) | ± 6.0% | – | 28% | 24% | 19% | 4% | 8% | 6% | – |

#### Results

Popular Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Popular Democratic | Jesús Manuel Ortiz | 83,045 | 61.71% |
| | Popular Democratic | Juan Zaragoza Gómez | 51,534 | 38.29% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 134,579 | 100.0% |

### Alianza de País (MVC-PIP Alliance)

The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and Citizens' Victory Movement (MVC) have formed an alliance for the 2024 elections. MVC has agreed to support PIP's nominee, Juan Dalmau Ramírez. However, Puerto Rico law requires all parties to nominate a candidate for governor, so MVC nominated Javier Córdova Iturregui as a placeholder candidate.

#### PIP nominee

* Juan Dalmau Ramírez, former at-large territorial senator and nominee for governor in 2020

#### MVC nominee

* Javier Córdova Iturregui, university professor, union leader, and perennial candidate

#### Endorsements

Political parties
* Citizens' Victory Movement
* Hostosian National Independence Movement
* Workers' Socialist Movement
Newspapers
* Momento Crítico

### Project Dignity
#### Candidates

Ada Norah Henriquez, who ran for resident commissioner in 2020, announced on 23 May 2023, while on the La Trinchera podcast that "we are going to aspire for the executive."
César Vázquez Muñiz, the president of the party and the nominee for governor in 2020, announced on 27 May 2023, while at a protest asking for the resignation of the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico Domingo Emanuelli, that he would be running again for governor, stating that "What you see is not asked". He later dropped out to run for territorial senate in the Bayamón district.
Javier Jiménez Pérez, mayor of San Sebastián del Pepino, who switched to Proyecto Dignidad earlier, announced his intention to run. This was further confirmed by a party assembly that certified the party will hold primaries to select the candidate.
Henriquez announced in December 2023 that she would run as an independent, leaving Jiménez as the only candidate seeking the PD nomination.

##### Nominee

* Javier Jiménez, mayor of San Sebastián and president of Project Dignity

##### Withdrawn

* César Vázquez Muñiz, former president of Project Dignity and nominee for governor in 2020 (running for territorial senate)
* Ada Norah Henriquez, attorney and nominee for resident commissioner in 2020 (running as a write-in candidate)

##### Declined

* Joanne Rodríguez Veve, at-large territorial senator (endorsed Jiménez)

#### Endorsements

Territorial legislators
* Lisie Burgos Muñiz, territorial representative
* Joanne Rodríguez Veve, at-large territorial senator

## Independents
### Disqualified

* Victor Luis Medina Cruz, physician
* Ada Norah Henriquez, attorney and Project Dignity nominee for resident commissioner in 2020 (running as a write-in candidate)
* Carlos Cintrón Rivera

## General election
### Debate

| Dates | Location | González- Colón | Manuel Ortiz | Dalmau | Jiménez | Link |
| October 2, 2024 | WAPA Studios Guaynabo | Participant | Participant | Participant | Participant | YouTube |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jenniffer González- Colón (PNP) | Jesús Manuel Ortiz (PPD) | Juan Dalmau (PIP) | Javier Jiménez (PD) | Undecided |
| AtlasIntel | November 1–4, 2024 | 4,914 (LV) | ± 1.0% | 36% | 20% | 35% | 8% | 2% |
| Lit Data PR | November 1–4, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 39.89% | 16.01% | 34.55% | 9.55% | — |
| El Nuevo Día/The Research Office | October 29 – November 1, 2024 | 1,000 (LV) | — | 37% | 22% | 29% | 7% | 5% |
| Lit Data PR | October 25 – November 1, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 35% | 15% | 34% | 8% | 9% |
| Lit Data PR | October 25 – November 1, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 38% | 16% | 36% | 10% | — |
| Pasquines | October 21 – November 1, 2024 | (A) | — | 37% | 23% | 31% | 7% | 3% |
| IZQ Strategies | October 14–31, 2024 | 1,651 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 35% | 17% | 37% | 7% | 4% |
| Bacon Research | October 25–29, 2024 | 807 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 32% | 18% | 25% | 7% | 17% |
| Lit Data PR | October 18–25, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 32% | 14% | 30% | 7% | 17% |
| Lit Data PR | October 18–25, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 38% | 17% | 36% | 9% | — |
| Consultoría Académica e Investigación Social LLC | October 10–22, 2024 | 784 (V) | — | 38% | 17% | 30% | 13% | 2% |
| Lit Data PR | October 11–18, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 34% | 13% | 28% | 6% | 18% |
| Gaither International | October 1–16, 2024 | 1,109 (A) | ± 2.94% | 31% | 18% | 29% | 8% | 14% |
| Lit Data PR | October 4–11, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 34% | 17% | 26% | 5% | 18% |
| Bacon Research | October 3–10, 2024 | 807 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 33% | 20% | 20% | 7% | 20% |
| Lit Data PR | September 27 – October 4, 2024 | 800 (A) | ± 3.39% | 30% | 13% | 25% | 4% | 28% |
| El Nuevo Día/The Research Office | September 28 – October 2, 2024 | 1,000 (RV) | ± 3% | 37% | 22% | 25% | 9% | 7% |
| Lit Data PR | September 21–27, 2024 | 800 (A) | — | 35% | 12% | 21% | 5% | 26% |
| Lit Data PR | September 5–20, 2024 | 800 (A) | — | 34% | 10% | 21% | 5% | 30% |
| Consultoría Académica e Investigación Social LLC | August 31 – September 3, 2024 | — | — | 37% | 23% | 25% | 12% | 3% |
| Gaither International | June 23 – July 8, 2024 | 1,109 (A) | ± 2% | 43% | 14% | 23% | 9% | 10% |
| El Nuevo Día/The Research Office | February 20–25, 2024 | 1,000 (V) | — | 38% | 30% | 10% | 8% | 14% |
| AtlasIntel | February 15–22, 2024 | 2,200 (V) | — | 33% | 20% | 25% | 8% | 16% |

### Results

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Jenniffer González-Colón | New Progressive Party | 526,020 | 41.22 |
| | Juan Dalmau | Puerto Rican Independence Party | 392,185 | 30.73 |
| | Jesús Manuel Ortiz | Popular Democratic Party | 273,649 | 21.44 |
| | Javier Jiménez | Project Dignity | 81,369 | 6.38 |
| | Javier Córdova Iturregu | Citizens' Victory Movement | 1,522 | 0.12 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | Write-ins | 1,362 | 0.11 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,276,107 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,276,107 | 99.62 |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 1,592 | 0.12 |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | Blank votes | 3,305 | 0.26 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,281,004 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,987,317 | 64.46 |
| Source: CEEPUR |||||