Governor: Puerto Rico would be a 'swing state'

Puerto Rico Governor Ricky Rosselló said Friday he believes Puerto Rico would be a “swing state” if the territory earns statehood.

Rosselló, speaking at POLITICO’s annual State Solutions Conference, said Puerto Rico is socially conservative, and congressional Republicans concerned about giving the Democrats another state are misled.


“If you look at Puerto Rico’s electoral behavior, we’re really a swing state,” he said. “When we don’t like something, we flip.”

Rosselló said Republican presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan both supported Puerto Rican statehood.

He added when Hawaii and Alaska were added as states, Hawaii was expected to be solidly Republican and Alaska solidly Democratic, saying the politics of a territory should not get in the way of statehood.

“In my view, really, Puerto Rico is up for grabs,” he said.

Puerto Rico will have its fifth status referendum on June 11, 2017, but congressional approval is necessary for it to become the 51st state.

In 2012, Puerto Ricans voted against maintaining their current political status by a vote of 54 percent to 46 percent. Of those who voted against maintaining the current political status, 61.11 percent chose statehood, 33.4 chose free association and 5.55 percent chose independence. Puerto Rico’s government at the time decided not to act on those results, instead opting to hold another referendum.