Marco Rubio had a strong win in Puerto Rico’s primary on Sunday. He had previously won the Minnesota primary, and his showing in Puerto Rico is expected to help him in the Florida primary, which is coming up on March 15th. He has had second place showings in other states, as well as third place results just a point or two behind other candidates.
Rubio visited San Juan on Saturday and held a rally there, where he sewed up his victory in the primary. Ted Cruz had released a statement in preparation for the primary in which he expressed support for statehood if Puerto Rican voters confirm their 2012 vote in the next referendum. Donald Trump sent a congratulatory message to Puerto Rico expressing his admiration for the Puerto Rican people.
But Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, has a long history of support for Puerto Rico, and was endorsed by Republican leadership there. His win had been predicted by Caribbean News.
Rubio took 71% of the vote in Puerto Rico, and will have all 23 of Puerto Rico’s delegates. Trump got 13.1%, Cruz 8.6%, Kasich 1.3%, and “other” won 2.2% of the vote, according to NPR.
Residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in the presidential election, so this primary vote, and the Democratic primary to be held in June, are the Island’s chance to speak up in the 2016 presidential race.
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