SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� Puerto Rico congressional representative Jenniffer Gonz谩lez defeated Gov. Pedro Pierluisi in a surprise upset during a primary election held Sunday by their pro-statehood party.
The two ran on the same ticket four years ago under the New Progressive Party, but Gonz谩lez, a Republican, announced her plan to challenge Pierluisi, a Democrat, in early December. Public jabs between the two turned acrimonious during the campaign.
Puerto Rico鈥檚 main political parties are divided by the island鈥檚 political status, so it鈥檚 common to find both Republicans and Democrats within the same party.
鈥淲hat happened is very painful, and I didn鈥檛 expect it, but let no one think that I鈥檓 going to slow down in the remainder of this four-year period,鈥� Pierluisi said late Sunday as he congratulated Gonz谩lez.
He addressed his supporters briefly as Gonz谩lez celebrated with hers while results continued to trickle in.
Gonz谩lez obtained 56% of the vote compared with Pierluisi鈥檚 44%, with an estimated tens of thousands of votes still uncounted. She is the first female gubernatorial candidate to secure a primary win for the New Progressive Party.
鈥淧ositions do not belong to politicians ... they belong to the people,鈥� Gonz谩lez said during a speech shortly after Pierluisi conceded. 鈥淚 commit to being on the streets, to listen to people.鈥�
As of Monday, Puerto Rico's elections commission had not yet provided updated numbers and was still counting votes.
Running with Gonz谩lez for the position of resident commissioner is senior U.S. naval military officer Elmer Rom谩n, a former secretary of state for Puerto Rico, while Puerto Rico Sen. William Villafa帽e is seeking the position under Pierluisi. On Monday, Villafa帽e had secured 53% of the votes and Rom谩n 47%, with 80% of voting centers reporting.
Earlier on Sunday, Puerto Rico Rep. Jes煤s Manuel Ortiz defeated Sen. Juan Zaragoza in the primary held by their Popular Democratic Party, which backs the island鈥檚 territorial status and seeks a return to power in the upcoming general elections.
Zaragoza conceded defeat after obtaining 38% of the votes compared with Zaragoza鈥檚 62%, even though only a little more than 60% of the votes had been counted.
Attorney Pablo Jos茅 Hern谩ndez ran unopposed to be the Popular Democratic Party's candidate for resident commissioner, the first person in 20 years to seek that nomination.
As results came in late Sunday, the page of Puerto Rico's elections commission crashed, frustrating many who were closely following the primaries. Officials said they were rushing to fix the problem, saying they did not know what caused it but that U.S. Homeland Security and other agencies were helping.
鈥淚f it were necessary to activate the FBI given the situation, we will do it,鈥� said Jessika Padilla, the commission's alternate president.
Ortiz, Gonz谩lez and other candidates face disgruntled voters on an island still struggling with chronic power outages and awaiting completion of reconstruction projects following Hurricane Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm in September 2017.
Power outages were reported at more than a dozen voting centers, including one where Ortiz arrived to cast his vote, forcing officials to revert to a manual process. Heavy rains also pelted parts of the island, with flood warnings issued for nearly a dozen towns and cities where landslides also were reported.
Power outages were such a big concern that Puerto Rico's elections commission rented more than a dozen generators and a private power company identified 81 alternate voting sites with guaranteed electricity.
鈥淚t's been years since I last voted,鈥� said Benito L贸pez, a 66-year-old retiree wearing a T-shirt that read, "The Island of Enchantment." He planned to cast a vote for a candidate he would not reveal 鈥渢o see if there's any improvement and change.鈥�
Other voter complaints include the difficulty of obtaining business permits, a fractured education system, and the island's lack of access to capital markets after the local government emerged two years ago from the largest debt restructuring in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, more than $9 billion of debt owed by Puerto Rico鈥檚 power company, the largest of any government agency, remains unresolved. A federal judge overseeing a bankruptcy-like process has yet to rule on a restructuring plan following bitter negotiations between the government and bondholders.
鈥淭hey have broken Puerto Rico,鈥� Cecilio Rodr铆guez, said of the current and previous administrations as he waited to cast his vote. 鈥淓conomic development must be a priority.鈥�
For other voters, stopping the exodus of doctors from Puerto Rico and improving the U.S. territory's crumbling health system is a priority.
鈥淭he patients are the ones who have to stay here and endure this. It's not fair,鈥� said Dr. Alfredo Rivera Freytes, an anesthesiologist who left Puerto Rico for St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands because of the problems with Puerto Rico's health system.
He returned two years ago with plans to retire, but found himself working again because of the need for anesthesiologists in Puerto Rico.
Ahead of the primaries, Pierluisi had touted record tourist numbers, hurricane reconstruction and growing economic development among his successes. He had pledged to prioritize projects targeting children and the island's growing elderly population, among other things.
An event marking the end of his campaign held a week before the primaries was headlined by former Gov. Ricardo Rossell贸, who resigned in August 2019 following nearly two weeks of street touched off by a leak of crude and insulting chat messages between him and his top advisers.
)Gonz谩lez has pledged to crack down on corruption, award more funds to agencies to help victims of violence amid a surge in killings of women, and stem an exodus of doctors and other medical workers to the U.S. mainland.
Gonz谩lez appealed to voters鈥� frustration earlier Sunday before winning, saying she would work to resolve their problems.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the reasons why I鈥檓 aspiring to governorship, because I believe that we should not get used to not having electricity, we should not get used to not having water,鈥� she said.
Zaragoza had promised to prioritize and renewable energy, decentralize the island's education department and improve access to health. His opponent, Ortiz, pledged to improve the licensing process to retain doctors, simplify the island's tax system and revamp health care.
Gonz谩lez and Ortiz will face gubernatorial candidates from other parties in November's general elections. Puerto Rico鈥檚 next governor will have to work alongside a federal control board that oversees the island鈥檚 finances and was created after the government declared bankruptcy.
Ahead of Sunday's primaries, more than 4,900 inmates voted in prisons across the U.S. territory. The State Commission of Elections also received and counted tens of thousands of early ballots.
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D谩nica Coto, The Associated Press
