The dust has finally settled. If you followed the Puerto Rico election results 2024 as they trickled in, you know it was a wild ride that basically upended the island's traditional political map. We aren't just talking about a change in leadership; we’re looking at a massive shift in how people there actually see their future.
Jenniffer González-Colón is now the Governor. She pulled it off. After a brutal primary where she took down the sitting governor, Pedro Pierluisi, she managed to snag about 41.2% of the vote. Honestly, in a place where two parties have swapped power like a game of tennis for decades, this election felt different. It was loud. It was messy. And the results were, frankly, historic for a few reasons most people are glossing over.
The Big Shakeup at the Top
For the first time ever, the "big two" parties didn't just walk away with everything. While González-Colón (of the New Progressive Party or PNP) won the big seat, the second-place finisher wasn't the usual suspect.
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Juan Dalmau, representing the "La Alianza" coalition (a mix of the Independence Party and Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana), grabbed a staggering 30.7%. You've got to understand how huge that is. Usually, the pro-independence crowd struggles to hit double digits. Dalmau pushing the traditional Popular Democratic Party (PPD) into a distant third place is the kind of thing that keeps local pundits up at night.
The PPD candidate, Jesús Manuel Ortiz, ended up with around 21%. It’s a bit of a crisis for them, really.
A Split Decision for the District
Here’s the kicker: voters didn't just hand the keys to one party and go home. While the PNP won the governorship, the race for Resident Commissioner—that’s Puerto Rico’s non-voting seat in the U.S. Congress—went the other way.
Pablo José Hernández Rivera from the PPD won that seat. He’s 33, a lawyer, and the grandson of a former governor. He beat out the PNP’s William Villafañe with about 44.5% of the vote. So, you have a pro-statehood Governor and a pro-status-quo (or "commonwealth") representative in D.C.
Awkward? Kinda.
What the People Said About Statehood
You can't talk about the Puerto Rico election results 2024 without diving into the status referendum. This was the seventh time they’ve done this, and the results were pretty clear, even if they aren't legally binding on the U.S. Congress.
Voters were given three choices: Statehood, Independence, or Sovereignty in Free Association.
- Statehood: 56.8% (which later climbed to about 58.5% in final certifications).
- Free Association: Around 29%.
- Independence: Roughly 11%.
People are tired of the "territory" label. That’s the vibe. Even though Kamala Harris won the symbolic "straw poll" for President on the island with over 70% of the vote, the local focus remains squarely on whether Puerto Rico will ever become the 51st state.
The Legislative Landslide
While the top of the ticket looked split, the Legislative Assembly tells a different story. The PNP absolutely dominated.
After the final counts were certified in early 2025, the New Progressive Party ended up controlling more than two-thirds of the seats in both the House and the Senate. It was such a blowout that they actually had to trigger a "Minority Protection Clause" in the Puerto Rican Constitution. Basically, they had to add extra seats for the losing parties just to make sure there was some semblance of an opposition.
Thomas Rivera Schatz is back as Senate President, and Carlos "Johnny" Méndez is the Speaker of the House. If you know PR politics, those names are very familiar. They aren't new faces; they are the old guard of the pro-statehood movement.
Why This Matters for You
So, why does any of this matter if you don't live in San Juan? Well, the island is at a crossroads with its power grid (LUMA Energy is still a massive headache for everyone there) and its massive debt restructuring.
González-Colón campaigned on a "clean house" platform regarding the reconstruction of the electrical grid. She’s also a Republican, which creates an interesting dynamic with the current federal government. She knows how to navigate D.C., and she’s likely to be very aggressive about pushing for statehood bills in the coming years.
Key Takeaways from the Results:
- The Two-Party Era is Limping: The rise of Dalmau shows a huge chunk of the population is done with the PNP/PPD duopoly.
- Statehood is Still the Favorite: Despite the noise, a clear majority still wants to join the Union.
- Split Governance: Having a PPD Resident Commissioner means there will be constant friction between the island’s local policy and its lobbying efforts in Washington.
If you're looking to keep an eye on what happens next, watch the transition of the energy contracts. That’s going to be the first real test for the new administration. You should also track any movement on the Puerto Rico Status Act in Congress. The 2024 results gave the pro-statehood movement a fresh mandate, but without action in D.C., it’s just another piece of paper.
For now, the best thing to do is follow the local "Voto Extendido" reports and the updates from the State Elections Commission (CEE) as they finalize the municipal tallies for the smaller towns, where some mayoral races were decided by just a handful of votes.