Puerto Rico's primary elections are on Sunday: which races to watch?

Puerto Rico’s primary election for governor on Sunday, June 2, will decide the leadership for the U.S. territory amid its battle with social and fiscal challenges, including an ailing electrical system that frequently causes blackouts for the island’s residents.

Who is running for Governor of Puerto Rico?

The territory’s current Resident Commissioner (Puerto Rico’s non-voting member of Congress who participates in the U.S. House of Representatives), Jenniffer González-Colón, is challenging incumbent Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi in the Progressive New Party primary. Three years ago, the pair ran together on the same ticket, but they have since gone separate ways ideologically: González-Colón is a Republican who earned former President Donald Trump’s praise in 2017, while Pierluisi caucused with the Democratic party when he was Resident Commissioner.

In the primary for the Popular Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nominee, Puerto Rico Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz González is taking on Puerto Rico Sen. Juan Zaragoza Gómez.

There are also candidates from Project Dignity and the Puerto Rican Independence Party and independent candidates.

Who is running for U.S. House of Representatives in Puerto Rico?

With González-Colón running for governor, the race for Resident Commissioner features an open seat.

In the Citizen’s Victory Movement primary election, Edgardo Cruz and Ana Irma Rivera Lassén are facing off.

The New Progressive Party primary election includes four candidates: José Enrique Meléndez Ortiz, Marigdalia K. Ramírez Fort, Elmer Roman, and William Villafañe Ramos.

Uncontested primary elections, such as those for the Popular Democratic Party, Project Dignity, and the Puerto Rican Independence Party, were canceled, and the single candidate has already advanced.

When is Puerto Rico’s general election?

The general election for both governor and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico will take place on Nov. 5, the same day as the 2024 U.S. presidential election.