No Surprise Marco Rubio Won Puerto Rico Republican Primary, But Second Place Finisher Was

Flag of Puerto Rico. (Photo: Getty)

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the only candidate to campaign in the “commonwealth,” unsurprisingly won the Puerto Rico Republican primary on Sunday. However, while Sen. Rubio won despite opposition from the island’s governor, the second place finisher was in many respects more surprising.

The island’s $73 billion public debt, which is fueled in large part by absurdly generous welfare and public employee pension programs, loomed over the primary. Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said in February that Sen. Rubio “is no friend of Puerto Rico,” which were made after the Feb. 25 CNN debate in Houston. Rubio was responding to a moderator’s question regarding his skepticism over bailing out Puerto Rico.

“Bankruptcy doesn’t work unless you change the way you’re operating,” Rubio responded. “The problem with Puerto Rico is its economy is not growing. … It’s too expensive to do business there. The tax rate is too high. I think the leadership on the island has to show their willingness to get their house in order.”

The comments didn’t sit well with Gov. Padilla.

“Shame on you,” Padilla said.

The governor later added that Rubio’s remarks about Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis “confirm he works for the vultures that fund his campaign,” while making reference to a New York Times article that questions Rubio’s change of heart over the commonwealth issue, right after receiving donations from certain Puerto Rico bondholders.

“Do not send the governor whose [administration] borrowed more than any other, to answer for you. Answer this: nytimes.com/politics/first…,” García Padilla tweeted—a veiled shot at former Gov. Luis Fortuño, who Rubio said “was doing a great job until he barely lost that election to someone who has taken a big government stance once again.”

Sen. Rubio was the only candidate to campaign for votes among the rather liberal-leaning GOP electorate in Puerto Rico. It was widely seen by observers as an opportunity for anyone not named Donald J. Trump. However, trailing a distant second behind Sen. Rubio was in fact Mr. Trump, the Republican frontrunner and candidate allegedly repulsive to Hispanics.

Four weeks after Mr. Trump made headlines on the island with his comments during his campaign announcement, the Trump International Gulf Club Puerto Rico also revealed that it was declaring bankruptcy. The markets for the resort industry have all but dried up amid high taxes and economic stagnation.

Now, this is the second time that Mr. Trump has outperformed expectations among Hispanics, which despite the media narrative, are not a monolithic voting bloc. In Nevada, Hispanics overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Trump over both Sen. Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, both of whom are Cuba-Americans. Sen. Rubio no doubt hopes that the win should help him rally South Florida’s big Latino voting bloc.

But Florida is like a second home to Mr. Trump and Cubans in Florida have little voting behavior in common with voters in Puerto Rico, or Puerto Rican Republicans in the Sunshine State for that matter. Time will tell, but the victory in the Puerto Rico Republican primary doesn’t erase the blowouts Sen. Rubio received in the March 1 Super Tuesday and March 5 Super Saturday states.