2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election

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, as well as the election events of a status referendum and a presidential straw poll. As a candidate in the 2024 general elections, the winner was elected to serve a four-year term from January 2, 2025 to January 2, 2029.

2024 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election

← 2020
November 5, 2024
2028 →
 
Nominee Jenniffer González-Colón Juan Dalmau
Party New Progressive Independence
Alliance Republican Alianza de País
Popular vote 524,373 391,945
Percentage 41.22% 30.81%

 
Nominee Jesús Manuel Ortiz Javier Jiménez
Party Popular Democratic Project Dignity
Alliance Democratic Republican
Popular vote 273,162 81,251
Percentage 21.47% 6.39%

Results by municipality
González:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%
Dalmau:      30–40%      40–50%

Governor before election

Pedro Pierluisi
New Progressive

Elected Governor

Jenniffer González-Colón
New Progressive

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

Jenniffer González Colón

Federal officials

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
Pedro Pierluisi

State cabinet officials

  • Larry Seilhamer, former Puerto Rico Secretary of State

Statewide officials

  • Ricardo Rosselló, Shadow representative and 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 Candidate Votes %
New Progressive Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon 159,527 54.57%
New Progressive Pedro Pierluisi (incumbent) 132,805 45.43%
Total votes 292,332 100.0%

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

Jesús Manuel Ortiz

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
Juan Zaragoza

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 Candidate Votes %
Popular Democratic Jesús Manuel Ortiz 83,045 61.71%
Popular Democratic Juan Zaragoza Gómez 51,534 38.29%
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

Juan Dalmau

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 (ran for territorial senate)
  • Ada Norah Henriquez, attorney and nominee for resident commissioner in 2020 (ran as a write-in candidate)
Declined
  • Joanne Rodríguez Veve, at-large territorial senator (endorsed Jiménez)

Endorsements

Javier Jiménez

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%
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%
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

CandidatePartyVotes%
Jenniffer González-ColónNew Progressive Party526,02041.22
Juan DalmauPuerto Rican Independence Party392,18530.73
Jesús Manuel OrtizPopular Democratic Party273,64921.44
Javier JiménezProject Dignity81,3696.38
Javier Córdova IturreguCitizens' Victory Movement1,5220.12
Write-ins1,3620.11
Total1,276,107100.00
Valid votes1,276,10799.62
Invalid votes1,5920.12
Blank votes3,3050.26
Total votes1,281,004100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,987,31764.46
Source: CEEPUR

See also

  • 2024 United States gubernatorial elections

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