The New Voter Pool in Florida: Puerto Ricans

More than a quarter-million Puerto Ricans have moved to the mainland U.S. since 2008, an exodus driven by the island’s faltering economy. About a third have settled in Florida, where there are now more than 1 million Puerto Rican-born residents—almost equal to the number of Cubans. The influx into the nation’s biggest swing state has created a tantalizing prize for presidential candidates. Although Puerto Ricans traditionally lean Democratic, candidates on both sides are investing heavily in courting these newcomers, who, as U.S. citizens, are eligible to vote in Florida’s March 15 primary and in the November general election.

In February, Hillary Clinton opened a campaign office in Orlando, at the heart of central Florida’s Interstate 4 corridor, where the Puerto Rican population is concentrated. Donald Trump’s campaign sent volunteers there to distribute bumper stickers and lawn signs. Marco Rubio, who successfully pushed for a regiment of Puerto Rican veterans known as the Borinqueneers to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, also plans to open an office in the city. “The epitome of swing votes are Puerto Rican voters,” says Christina Hernandez, a Democratic consultant who’s worked for Clinton and President Obama. “These are the most swing voters in the most swing areas of the most swing state of the entire country.”