November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08) 2020 → 649,791 605,710 Date 8 November 2016 | Turnout 55.10% 41.76% 38.93% Location Puerto Rico | |
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Winner Ricky Rosselló | ||
General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government that will serve from January 2017 to January 2021, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico.
Contents
Nominations
Before the election year, the Constitution of Puerto Rico provides for any qualified person to present their candidacy for a specific position. If two or more candidates from the same party present their candidacy for the same position, and they can't reach an agreement within the party, a primary election is held. This election is held within the inscribed members of each party, to select which of the candidates will represent the party in the general election.
Both of the main parties: New Progressive Party (PNP) and Popular Democratic Party (PPD), held primaries for several positions on June 5, 2016.
New Progressive Party (PNP)
The primaries were held on June 5, 2016 to determine candidates for Governor of Puerto Rico, the Senate, House of Representatives, and others.
Popular Democratic Party (PPD)
The primaries were held on June 5, 2016 to determine several candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives, and others.
Minority parties
Two minority parties officialized their gubernatorial candidates. The Working People's Party (PPT) nominated Rafael Bernabe once again. The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) nominated María de Lourdes Santiago.
Independents
As of November 2015, two independent candidates expressed their interest in running for Governor:
Governor
The official candidates for the position of Governor of Puerto Rico are:
Resident Commissioner
The official candidates for the position of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico are:
At-large
The ballot featured sixteen (16) candidates from four different parties and one independent candidate (bold denotes incumbent candidates)
At-large
The ballot featured sixteen (16) candidates from four different parties (bold denotes incumbent candidates)
Governor
The candidate from the New Progressive Party (PNP) Ricky Rosselló beat the candidate from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) David Bernier obtaining 41.76% of the votes against 38.92% for Bernier. Most notably, the two independent candidates – Alexandra Lúgaro and Manuel Cidre – managed to arrive in third and fourth place with 11.12% and 5.73% respectively. For the fourth election in a row, the candidate of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) failed to receive the required 3% of the votes to remain registered. The same result happened to Rafael Bernabe from the Working People's Party (PPT) for the second election in a row.
Mayoral
Despite losing most of the Senate and the House, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) managed to win a majority of the mayoralty races in the island, with a total of 45 out of 78 municipalities. The New Progressive Party (PNP) won a total of 33.