Marco Rubio Wins Puerto Rico GOP Presidential Primary, Vote Could Include Criminals
Florida Senator Marco Rubio scored a much-needed win Sunday night in Puerto Rico, where he was declared the winner in the commonwealth’s Republican presidential primary, according to CNN. Prior to Sunday’s win, the only other state to throw its support behind the first-term senator was Minnesota.
Early results from the island territory show the vote giving Rubio a wide margin in Puerto Rico, meaning he could top the 50 percent magic number that would award him the island’s 20 or more delegates with none going to challengers Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Governor John Kasich of Ohio, or businessman Donald Trump of New York.
As National Public Radio pointed out, Rubio was the only one to visit the American territory in the Caribbean, holding campaign rallies there Saturday while Cruz campaigned in Idaho and Trump held a news conference in West Palm Beach, Florida. Cruz and Trump split the four states who voted Saturday (Kentucky and Louisiana for Trump, Kansas and Maine for Cruz).
“Because Rubio topped 50 percent of the vote, he will net all 23 delegates up for grabs.”
“The Florida senator was the only candidate to visit the territory, campaigning there on Saturday, where he downplayed his poor showing in Saturday’s slate of primaries. But delegates added on Sunday will help his total climb against Trump and Cruz. And the territory awards just as many delegates as some other smaller states, such as New Hampshire, where Rubio had a disappointing finish last month.”
The Chicago Tribune noted that Rubio won by a wide margin, notching more than 24,000 votes in Puerto Rico versus Trump’s nearly 4,500, his nearest competitor.
An interesting note in Puerto Rico’s vote is the territory’s inclusion of inmates in the election process. That’s right – inmates.
The Tribune notes it is the only state to allow inmates to vote and while it is unknown whether the inmate total helped Rubio or hurt the other candidates – or made a difference at all – it adds intrigue to a race that has challenged all conventional wisdom thus far.
While the Puerto Rican people – and inmates – were allowed to vote in the primary and take part in the nomination of the Republican and Democratic candidates, these same men and women will not be allowed to vote in the general election in November of this year, the Tribune reports, despite residents born in Puerto Rico and other American territories being born as United States citizens.
With the island not having voting rights in November, participation in the primaries was Puerto Ricans’ only way to make their voices heard in the election. Even though the island is in the middle of a financial crisis centered around crippling public debt, statehood is still a goal for its residents and Rubio’s participation in the primaries could indicate his support of statehood for Puerto Rico, the Tribune reported.
“Politics in Puerto Rico generally revolves around the island’s relationship to the U.S. One major party favors statehood and the other wants to maintain the current semi-autonomous commonwealth status. A small minority favors independence. The pro-statehood party has traditionally attracted Republicans and anyone taking part in the primary had to sign a pledge to support the effort to become the 51st state.”
A review of Donald Trump’s Twitter account does not show a response to Rubio’s win, which could help him win favor with the Latino population ahead of Florida’s winner-take-all primary on March 15. Trump as recently as last night had called on Rubio to drop out of the race after a series of disappointing finishes.
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[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
