Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have both offered plans to solve Puerto Rico's debt crisis. They've invested a roughly equal number of time campaigning there over the past three weeks. But unlike other recent contests where Sanders closed to within striking distance in the final days, leaving the eventual outcome up in the air, few expect the territory to do anything other than deliver a Clinton victory.

There's just too much history with the Clintons, and too many hurdles for Sanders to overcome in a place where the former secretary of state won by a landslide over Barack Obama in 2008.


While the delegate haul out of Puerto Rico isn't enough to push Clinton over the threshold necessary to claim the Democratic nomination, the delegate-rich island will get her very close. With 60 pledged delegates at stake, after Puerto Rico’s primary Sunday Clinton will likely be in a position to be declared the nominee after the New Jersey polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Public polling in the Puerto Rico primary has been essentially nonexistent, so there’s no reliable way to gauge who’s ahead, though Clinton took an early lead Sunday. But as a former senator from the state with the largest population of Puerto Rican-Americans, she has a much greater degree of familiarity with the territory and its residents than Sanders.

"She has a very good grasp of policy issues in Puerto Rico and has for a very long time, particularly when she was a senator from New York," said Roberto Prats, the chairman of the Puerto Rico Democratic Party and a Clinton supporter. "We have a sizable population of Puerto Ricans in New York and New York state and she was very active in the community as well."

That's an advantage against Sanders, whose home state of Vermont has one of the smallest populations of Puerto Rican-Americans in the nation.

"I think the challenge for the Sanders campaign is getting to know the people of Puerto Rico. He's now being introduced to the Puerto Rico electorate for the first time," Prats said. "I think the Clintons have had a very longstanding relationship with the people of Puerto Rico."

Clinton, who’s been endorsed by Gov. Alejandro Padilla, traveled to Puerto Rico for a roundtable event in September and in mid-May former President Bill Clinton traveled there and held several events. Sanders' visit came a day earlier, and included a conference at the University of Puerto Rico and events in San Juan and Guaynabo.

"She did well [in Puerto Rico] last time, but look, we're competing there," Sanders pollster Ben Tulchin said Friday, referring to Clinton’s 67 percent to 31 percent victory over Obama. "Look, there's quite a number of delegates at play in Puerto Rico and we're not leaving it uncontested but it's not California and so he's not there for two weeks. But look he went there, he took it seriously."

For months, the most pressing question in Puerto Rico for both candidates has been how they would address the territory's ongoing debt crisis. As a result, Sanders’ allies and aides say his message on income inequality will take root here.

"I think Bernie's message about a rigged economy resonates strongly in Puerto Rico as anywhere else." Tulchin said. "From what I understand, voters there are frustrated with the establishment and I feel like Bernie and his message critiquing money in politics and corrupt political systems can resonate really well in Puerto Rico."

The debt crisis has been a point of contrast between the two candidates. In July, Clinton threw her support behind a congressional effort to allow the territory to restructure its debt through bankruptcy courts. More recently, in late May, Sanders came out with his own position, urging congressional Democrats to reject the proposal Clinton endorsed, which House Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House also back. In particular, Sanders objected to an oversight board included in the proposal.

"At a time when the people of Puerto Rico are suffering, the legislation introduced in the House would make a terrible situation even worse," Sanders wrote in his letter to colleagues in the Senate.

The differing positions capture the distinctions between Sanders and Clinton, said former Democratic Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vilá, who backs Sanders.

"Hillary has said, 'Well, it's not a perfect bill, but we should move it forward.' My position and Bernie Sanders' position is it's a bad bill, we should defeat it. So that makes a huge difference," Vilá said, explaining that Clinton’s approach to the debt crisis was far too moderate. "She has been trying to be okay with everyone and he has taken a clear side and that makes a huge difference."

But Vilá conceded it might not be enough to give Sanders the advantage.

"She won against Obama in 2008. First off, recognize that she's supposed to win on [Sunday]. Having said that, I have to tell you that Bernie Sanders has the momentum because he's the only one talking about the immediate issues affecting Puerto Rico," Vilá said. "She should win Puerto Rico because they have a lot of connections here, but maybe there could be a surprise. There could be a surprise."

