Puerto Rico sent 60 delegates to the convention, more than a number of states. While Puerto Rico has no say in the presidential election, voters in the U.S. territory can vote in the primaries and send delegates to the party conventions. Last night, as the convention music turned to Despacito, the delegation dedicated its 60 votes to Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for the presidency.
During the roll call vote, Puerto Rico Democratic Party Chair Charlie Rodriquez described the island as “a U.S. territory known as ‘the commonwealth of Puerto Rico’ and the next state of the United States.” The arena erupted in cheers of support.
Democratic Governor Pedro Pierluisi was also in attendance at the arena last night and stood prominently in the front row of the Puerto Rico delegation as Rodriguez announced the results.
Puerto Rico voters have chosen statehood as their preferred political status in the last three plebiscites. Another status vote is coming up in November.
2024 Democratic Party Platform
The 2024 Democratic Party Platform has this to say about Puerto Rico:
Democrats recognize that the people of Puerto Rico have earned and deserve to resolve the political status questions. For this reason, Democrats support the enactment of the Puerto Rico Status Act/H.R. 2757, and promote full civic and political representation for Puerto Ricans. We will work to end its unequal treatment by the federal government, and fight to provide equal access to federal programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and the CTC. Democrats reject Trump’s failed response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, and will ensure that the federal government’s response to disasters in Puerto Rico is as urgent as it would be anywhere else in the country. When disaster does strike, we will speed access to recovery funds to help rebuild. We will build on the Administration’s investments to invest further in energy, infrastructure, economic development, education, health care, housing, energy, and climate resilience. We will help restructure Puerto Rico’s debt to relieve its debt burden, and we will work to dissolve the Financial Oversight and Management Board.
AOC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who is of Puerto Rican heritage, spoke on Monday night in support of Harris’s candidacy, bringing her own life experience into her remarks.
“You know, six years ago I was taking omelet orders as a waitress in New York City. I didn’t have health insurance. My family was fighting off foreclosure, and we were struggling with bills after my dad passed away unexpectedly from cancer. Like millions of Americans, we were just looking for an honest shake. And we were tired of a cynical politics that seemed blind to the realities of working people. It was then, only through the miracles of democracy and community that the good people of the Bronx and Queens chose someone like me to elect them in Congress,” she said after thanking Harris and her vice-presidential pick, Tim Walz for their vision and President Joe Biden for his leadership. “You know ever since I got elected Republicans have attacked me by saying that I should go back to bartending. But let me tell you, I’m happy to any day of the week because there is nothing wrong with working for a living. Imagine, imagine having leaders in the White House who understand that. Leaders like Kamala and Tim.”
Ocasio-Cortez is a supporter of the Puerto Rico Status Act, a Puerto Rico self determination proposal currently pending before Congress, but she did not address Puerto Rico’s status in her speech at the convention.
