Legal Commentary

Obama Supporting PR Gov Down 34 Points In Own Race

By Big Tent Democrat

In a poll performed by the largest newspaper in in Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Dia, the indicted Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila trails his Statehood Party opponent Luis Fortuno by 34 points, 59-25. Acevedo Vila has endorsed Barack Obama in the June 1 Puerto Rico primary.

However, the Statehood Party candidate for Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, also an Obama endorser, holds a hefty 29 point advantage over his Commonwealth Party opponent.

I expect the newspaper also polled the Presidential primary but will release those results in the next few days. What this means, imo, is that the Statehood Party is in the ascendancy and the question is whether it will activate its political machinery at the behest of its Resident Commissioner candidate Pierluisi, or stay on the sidelines, as its Gubernatorial candidate, Fortuno, is a Republican and a McCain supporter.

My speculation is that the Presidential candidates will largely be on their own in this contest and will have to rely on their own hastily built political operations on the Island.

Here is a good telling quote from an Obama operative about how Puerto Rico works:

[T]he Clinton and Obama campaigns have been trying to unite supporters across party lines, while still exploiting the island's powerful party machines. "This is all brand-new for us," says Obama's national field director, Temo Figueroa. "We're used to grassroots politics, get the names, get the emails, but here you really have to work within their system. You've got to get to the right mayor. You've got to make sure the staff working with the statehooders are wearing blue."

That's what it is like. this is a machine jurisdiction.

By Big Tent Democrat

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 27, 2008 (boomark / email).