Polls show that the majority of U.S. voters support statehood for Puerto Rico. That number rises when Hispanic voters are asked — and skyrockets when Puerto Rican voters are surveyed. In the past, that might have been a specific detail about a narrow bloc of voters. No longer. Hispanic voters are a decisive new force in U.S. politics. In fact, it’s not an overstatement to say that the Latino vote is the new battleground for upcoming elections.
What do Hispanic voters say about Puerto Rico statehood?
While 59% of all American voters support statehood for Puerto Rico, 68% of Hispanic voters do so. Among Puerto Rican voters, it’s 71%.
What’s more, majorities of all Hispanic voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports Puerto Rico statehood. That’s 56% among all Hispanic voters and 67% of Puerto Rican voters. But even among Latino voters who are not Puerto Rican, a majority 54% would rather vote for a statesman candidate.
How important are Hispanic voters?
Pew Research points out that Hispanic voters are the fastest-growing group of voters in the nation. In 2020, Hispanic voters (all races) made up just 9 percent, but now they are 16% of the electorate. Black non-Hispanic voters have held steady and Asian voters have increased only slightly. White, non-Hispanic voters make up a smaller proportion of the nation’s voters. In fact, growth among eligible voters shows primarily in the Latino voting sector.
Courtesy of Pew Research
If the stereotypes about Hispanic voters were true, this might be a story about the growth of the Democratic Party. Actually, the idea that Latinos are automatically blue voters is false. Here are some facts from recent surveys of voters:
- According to Pew Research, 24% of Hispanic voters aren’t sure whether they’d vote Democratic or Republican — just one point behind Black voters for the largest proportion of undecided votes.
- Pew also points out that Hispanic voters in 2024 were nearly evenly split between the two national parties.
- UnidosUS reports that 52% of Puerto Rican voters believe the Democratic Party cares a great deal about Latinos, and 33% believe the same about Republicans.
- Also from Unidos, 54% of Puerto Rican voters said that they voted for Harris (the Democratic candidate) in 2024, and 42% voted for Trump — a slightly more Republican voting pattern than among Hispanics in general in this survey.
While this research shows that stateside Puerto Ricans tend Democratic, it also shows that a significant proportion are voting Republican. The undecided voters show that nearly one quarter of Hispanic voters are persuadable — that is, they haven’t settled on one party over another and will be open to outreach from either party.
Knowing that Hispanic voters want to vote for candidates who support Puerto Rico statehood should encourage all candidates to explore this issue. There is bipartisan support for Puerto Rico statehood, now and historically, but many legislators and candidates haven’t learned enough to take a position. In 2026, that’s the wrong place to be.
Where are they voting?
Right now, where voters live makes a big difference. In the midterm elections, some states — the swing states or battleground states — are less predictable than others. From the point of view of candidates for Congress, these are the most important states: the ones where they can get their message across to people who haven’t yet made up their minds.
UnidosUS looked closely at undecided, independent, and crossover Hispanic voters. They found that this population is a significant presence in 12 of the 37 competitive House districts they analyzed.
What does this mean for Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is preparing to make an official application for statehood. This will take place after the midterm elections. The new Congress will consider admission for Puerto Rico. In 2022, the House passed the Puerto Rico Status Act. It was too late in the year to come before the Senate, but it was the closest Puerto Rico has come to statehood.
In 2027, a Congress with bipartisan support for Puerto Rico statehood can admit Puerto Rico as the 51st state. Since Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, admission can be accomplished with just a simple majority vote. You’ll see claims that the current states must ratify the vote or that a constitutional amendment would be required — those are false claims. 32 territories have already been admitted, many with just a handful of votes above 50%.
The more Puerto Rico statehood supporters in Congress, the better for Puerto Rico. If you live in a state, register to vote. Find out whether your candidates support statehood. Vote for the ones who do.
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