The 2008 Popular Democratic Party primaries were the primary elections by which voters of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) chose its nominees for various political offices of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general elections. They were held on March 9, 2008. Incumbent Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá faced no opposition for his candidacy, making him the official candidate for the elections.
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Background
editAt the time of the primaries, incumbent Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was allegedly being investigated by federal authorities for allegations of irregularities in his campaign finances. However, despite this, the party supported his candidacy for Governor.
Also, one of the most contested campaigns was the one for Mayor of Ponce, with incumbent Francisco Zayas Seijo facing the former administrator of the city, Carlos Jirau.
Candidates
editSenate
editAt-large
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District
editThe Popular Democratic Party held primaries on only 4 of the 8 senatorial districts.
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House of Representatives
editAt-large
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District
editThe Popular Democratic Party held primaries on 24 of the 40 representative districts.
District 3edit
District 11edit
District 12edit
District 13edit
District 14edit
District 16edit
District 17edit
District 18edit
District 20edit
District 21edit
District 22edit
District 23edit
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District 24edit
District 25edit
District 26edit
District 27edit
District 28edit
District 29edit
District 30edit
District 33edit
District 34edit
District 35edit
District 36edit
District 37edit
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Mayors
editThe Popular Democratic Party held primaries on 23 of 78 municipalities.
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Results
editSenate
editAt-large
edit| Candidate | Popular vote | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alejandro García Padilla | 213,153 | 14.40% | |
| Eduardo Bhatia | 207,883 | 14.04 | |
| Juan Eugenio Hernández Mayoral | 167,088 | 11.28 | |
| Sila Mari González Calderón | 151,550 | 10.24 | |
| Antonio Fas Alzamora | 133,161 | 8.99 | |
| Cirilo Tirado Rivera | 124,593 | 8.41 | |
| Roberto Vigoreaux | 117,731 | 7.95 | |
| Margarita Ostolaza | 113,663 | 7.68 | |
| Juan Cancel Alegría | 104,373 | 7.05 | |
| Landy Fabre | 84,410 | 5.70 | |
| Rafael Irizarri | 35,284 | 2.38 | |
| Víctor de la Cruz | 27,408 | 1.85 | |
| Others | 350 | 0.02 | |
District
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House of Representatives
editAt-large
edit| Candidate | Popular vote | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Héctor Ferrer | 228,098 | 15.81% | |
| Jaime Perelló | 147,868 | 10.25 | |
| Brenda López de Arrarás | 144,099 | 9.99 | |
| Jorge Colberg Toro | 140,158 | 9.72 | |
| Carmen Yulín Cruz | 133,510 | 9.26 | |
| Luis Vega Ramos | 132,967 | 9.22 | |
| Ulises Dalmau | 101,060 | 7.01 | |
| Ramón Ruíz Nieves | 87,298 | 6.05 | |
| Angel Ortíz | 75,671 | 5.25 | |
| Julio Muñoz | 68,955 | 4.78 | |
| Jeanette Miranda | 59,316 | 4.11 | |
| José Segui | 50,458 | 3.50 | |
| Frankie Rodríguez | 39,007 | 2.70 | |
| Coco Ríos | 33,622 | 2.33 | |
| Others | 392 | 0.03 | |
Aftermath
editAcevedo Vilá's candidacy
editSeveral weeks after the primaries, Incumbent Governor and PPD candidate, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, was officially indicted on 19 counts of campaign finance violations. This put his candidacy in jeopardy, and several candidates where taunted as possible replacements. However, Acevedo Vilá decided to run for reelection, and was openly endorsed by the Party in a massive caucus held at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in April 2008.[1][2] Acevedo Vilá would lose the 2008 general elections. However, in March 2009, he was found not guilty of all charges by a jury.
Split in Ponce
editIn the primary for the Mayor of Ponce, incumbent Francisco Zayas Seijo narrowly beat his opponent, former Ponce administrator, Carlos Jirau. Zayas beat Jirau by less than 30 votes.[3] After the defeat, Jirau appealed the primary claiming there were irregularities in the process. He also started an independent movement called Movimiento Autónomo Ponceño.[4][5] At the 2008 general elections, both Zayas and Jirau were defeated by the PNP candidate Mayita Meléndez. This was the first time a PNP candidate had won in Ponce in more than 20 years.[6]
See also
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References
edit- ^ Asamblea ratifica candidatura del Gobernador on Primera Hora; Rivera, Manuel (April 27, 2008)
- ^ No se quita on El Nuevo Día; Associated Press (April 27, 2008)
- ^ Primarias 2008: Resultados Ponce Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
- ^ Ico Zayas: "la bola esta en la cancha de Jirau" on El Nuevo Día (May 12, 2008)
- ^ "Ico" le tira a "Mayita" y pide unidad a Jirau on Primera Hora; Estrada, Michelle (August 29, 2008)
- ^ “Mayita no ganó, Ico Zayas perdió” on El Nuevo Día (November 6, 2008)