Popular Democratic Party primaries, 2008
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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.
Background
At 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
Senate
At-large
District
The Popular Democratic Party held primaries on only 4 of the 8 senatorial districts.
- Wanda Arroyo
- Javier Cruz
- María Elena
- Edgar A. Martínez
- Francis Rivera
- Iván Serrano Cordero
- Robin H. Montes
- Sergio Ortíz
- Omar Soto
- Enid Toro de Báez
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House of Representatives
At-large
District
The Popular Democratic Party held primaries on 24 of the 40 representative districts.
District 3
- Ruthy Currás
- Herminio Pagán
District 11
- Ricky Arrillaga
- Rafael Hernández
District 12
- Jorge Avilés
- Eliezer Burgos
- Claudio Ferrer, Jr.
- Remberto Rodríguez
District 13
- Benny Collazo
- Felix Pagán
- Víctor Rodríguez
- Amadis Ulises
District 14
- Vángelo Figueroa
- Felix Rosario
- Juan R. Torres
District 16
District 17
District 18
- Luis "Chivita" González
- Concepción Salas
- Solá
- María Vargas
District 20
- Elvin Camacho
- Luis Ramírez
- Jorgito Ramos
- Eduardo Rosado
District 21
District 22
- Juan O. Alicea
- Georgie González
District 23
- Wilo Beltrán
- Rafael A. García
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District 24
- Ramón Borrero
- Luis Farinacci
- Vilma Flores
- Ferdinand Martínez
- Vangie Rivera
District 25
District 26
- John Avilés
- Juan Carlos Figueroa
- Gamalier Pagán
District 27
- Carmen Iris González
- Carlos Luis Torres
- Pito Torres
District 28
- Jorge I. Agosto
- Frankie Cuadrado
- Remesal
- Rosendo
- Luis Santiago
District 29
- Félix Agosto
- Heric Colón
- José R. Varela
District 30
- Rey Alomar
- Eduardo Cintrón
- Migdalia Díaz
- Domingo Torres
District 33
- Héctor Carrasquillo
- Gilbert
District 34
District 35
- Narden Jaime Espinosa
- Ricardo Fernández
- Freddy
- José Pi Báez
- José "Tony" Reyes
- Valentín Valdés
- William Vázquez
District 36
District 37
- José Miguel del Valle, Jr.
- Frankie Guerra
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Mayors
The Popular Democratic Party held primaries on 23 of 78 municipalities.
- Ramón E. Dasta
- Héctor Rafael
- Moisés Castro
- Jesús Rosado
- Gilberto "Lex" Camacho
- Humberto González
- Abimael Portalatín
- Alexis Bermúdez
- Digna Feliciana
- Myrna García
- Norma Guzmán
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- Nelson Vázquez
- Roberto Velázquez
- Julito Osorio
- Maricruz Rivera
- Wilson Acevedo
- Aida E. González
- Manuel Martínez
- Moncho Padilla
- Víctor Manuel Pérez
- Cheo Rivera
- Jolly Rivera
- Tony Badé
- Francisco Colón
- Abraham López
- Pedro Santos
- Jesús Arce
- Ramón Collazo
- Martín Negrón
- Otilio Plaza
- Quitín
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Results
Senate
At-large
| Candidate |
Popular vote |
Percentage |
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Alejandro García Padilla |
213,153 |
14.40% |
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Eduardo Bhatia |
207,883 |
14.04 |
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Juan Eugenio Hernández Mayoral |
167,088 |
11.28 |
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Sila Mari González Calderón |
151,550 |
10.24 |
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Antonio Fas Alzamora |
133,161 |
8.99 |
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Cirilo Tirado Rivera |
124,593 |
8.41 |
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Roberto Vigoreaux |
117,731 |
7.95 |
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Margarita Ostolaza |
113,663 |
7.68 |
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Juan Cancel Alegría |
104,373 |
7.05 |
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Landy Fabre |
84,410 |
5.70 |
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Rafael Irizarri |
35,284 |
2.38 |
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Víctor de la Cruz |
27,408 |
1.85 |
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Others |
350 |
0.02 |
District
| Candidate |
Popular vote |
Percentage |
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María Elena Pérez |
12,612 |
21.62% |
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Edgar A. Martínez |
11,979 |
20.54 |
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Iván Serrano |
11,415 |
19.57 |
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Wanda Arroyo |
9,771 |
16.75 |
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Javier Cruz |
9,637 |
16.52 |
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Francis Rivera |
2,875 |
4.93 |
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Others |
41 |
0.07 |
| Candidate |
Popular vote |
Percentage |
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Sergio Ortíz |
21,699 |
33.43% |
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Enid Toro de Báez |
20,434 |
31.48 |
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Robin H. Montes |
11,379 |
17.53 |
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Omar Soto |
11,370 |
17.51 |
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Others |
36 |
0.06 |
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| Candidate |
Popular vote |
Percentage |
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José Luis Galarza |
19,582 |
23.95% |
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Rafael Santiago |
17,968 |
21.98 |
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Modesto Agosto Alicea |
15,676 |
19.17 |
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Bruno Ramos |
15,621 |
19.10 |
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José H. Rivera |
12,848 |
15.71 |
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Others |
70 |
0.09 |
| Candidate |
Popular vote |
Percentage |
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Angel M. Rodríguez |
29,611 |
37.64% |
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Eder Ortíz Ortíz |
28,736 |
36.53 |
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Luis Guillermo Febus |
20,284 |
25.79 |
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Others |
33 |
0.04 |
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House of Representatives
At-large
| Candidate |
Popular vote |
Percentage |
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Héctor Ferrer |
228,098 |
15.81% |
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Jaime Perelló |
147,868 |
10.25 |
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Brenda López de Arrarás |
144,099 |
9.99 |
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Jorge Colberg Toro |
140,158 |
9.72 |
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Carmen Yulín Cruz |
133,510 |
9.26 |
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Luis Vega Ramos |
132,967 |
9.22 |
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Ulises Dalmau |
101,060 |
7.01 |
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Ramón Ruíz Nieves |
87,298 |
6.05 |
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Angel Ortíz |
75,671 |
5.25 |
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Julio Muñoz |
68,955 |
4.78 |
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Jeanette Miranda |
59,316 |
4.11 |
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José Segui |
50,458 |
3.50 |
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Frankie Rodríguez |
39,007 |
2.70 |
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Coco Ríos |
33,622 |
2.33 |
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Others |
392 |
0.03 |
Aftermath
Acevedo Vilá's candidacy
Several 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 on April 2008.[1][2] Acevedo Vilá would lose the 2008 general elections. However, on March 2009, he was found not guilty of all charges by a jury.
Split in Ponce
In 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
References
