Puerto Rican voters have become increasingly influential in U.S. national elections. One major reason is that more U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico have moved to important battleground states like Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and New York. The concentration of Puerto Ricans in these relative swing states gives them an outsized level of importance in elections.
Hispanic voters in general have become a larger part of the electorate over a longer period of time as Hispanics have grown to 20.5% of the population in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Distribution of this broader group of Latinos is also uneven across states, with percentages ranging from less than 5% in Montana to nearly 50% in New Mexico.
Neither Puerto Rican voters nor Hispanic voters overall vote as a bloc. However, a new nationwide survey comparing Hispanic voters (including Puerto Rican voters) with Puerto Rican voters in particular shows some differences, most notably in terms of intensity and interest in the issue of Puerto Rico statehood.
Social issues
On questions of values and positions on social issues, both groups of respondents were more conservative than U.S. voters overall, with little difference between Puerto Ricans and Hispanics generally.
Respondents were asked about a wide range of positions of this kind, from views on trans athletes playing in women’s sports to the importance of having a strong work ethic. Among all respondents, the answers showed conservative inclinations.
Questions of statehood
National polling since the 1960s has shown that about 2/3 of all Americans favor statehood for Puerto Rico. The responses from all respondents in the new survey showed that Hispanics overall fell into the same pattern as Americans overall. Puerto Rico voters, however, considered statehood more important than Hispanic voters overall. 77% of Puerto Ricans said it is important for Puerto Rico to become a state, and 59% say it is very important.
Among Puerto Rican respondents, 84% of Republicans said that Puerto Rico statehood is important, and 74% of both Democrats and Independents agreed. Among Hispanics in general, Democrats were more likely to consider statehood for Puerto Rico important, though clear majorities of all groups took this position.
A question comparing statehood with independence for Puerto Rico again showed majorities for statehood, but non-Puerto Ricans were more likely to favor independence for the territory.
Puerto Rican voters were more likely to believe that Puerto Rico statehood would help the overall U.S. economy.
They were also more likely to vote for a candidate who supported statehood for Puerto Rico. 67% of Puerto Rican candidates would vote for a statehood candidate over other candidates, while 54% of non-Puerto Rican Hispanic voters would do so. In all cases, statehood candidates were more appealing, but there is a difference in the size of the majority.
Does this matter?
Is this just interesting information, or does it matter with respect to voting behavior? The answer to this question may matter to candidates in upcoming elections in certain parts of the country. Swing states with large Puerto Rican communities contain voters who have personal opinions on the question of Puerto Rico status.
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