Republicans can win the House in 2026 through Puerto Rican voters

Opinion>Opinions - Campaign The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Republicans can win the House in 2026 through Puerto Rican voters Comments: by José Fuentes, opinion contributor - 08/01/26 2:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied by José Fuentes, opinion contributor - 08/01/26 2:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied

FILE – A woman waves the flag of Puerto Rico during a news conference on Puerto Rican statehood on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 2, 2021. The U.S. House has passed a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence. It is a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Midterm elections have historically cost the party in power seats in Congress, and this November could be no different as Republicans face a difficult path to keeping their narrow majority in the U.S. House. Republicans must engage with a swing voting bloc the party misunderstands: Puerto Ricans, the second-largest Hispanic voting bloc in the U.S. To start winning these voters back, Republicans must stop attacking Puerto Rican statehood.

On July 15, the Puerto Rico Statehood Council, which I chair, released a new poll on Hispanic and Puerto Rican voters conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, President Trump’s own pollster. Sixty-eight percent of Hispanic voters broadly support statehood, as well as 71 percent of Puerto Ricans, meaning the issue is mostly reward with little political risk.

Here is the number that President Trump and House Republican leaders should internalize because it shows they can win Puerto Ricans if they ignore misguided advice and stop attacking statehood: 78 percent of Republican Puerto Rican voters approve of statehood and only 13 percent disapprove. More Republican voting Puerto Ricans support statehood than Democrats (69 percent). The results confirm that the statehood movement aligns with conservative values. Beyond that, 68 percent of Republican Puerto Ricans say they’re more likely to vote for a candidate who supports statehood.

The poll makes clear that the voters most impacted by candidates supporting Puerto Rico statehood are Republican, not Democratic, voters.

If you just listen to the recycled tropes attacking Puerto Rico statehood from the likes of Sen. Mitch McConnell, this polling will shock you. But it shouldn’t. Puerto Rico’s governor and most successful island-wide candidate in history is Republican. Puerto Rico’s Senate President and Speaker of the House are Republicans. The people of Puerto Rico also overwhelmingly share Republican priorities — a strong U.S. military and free Venezuela. We back tough-on-crime policies and overwhelmingly support traditional family values. These fundamental beliefs are similarly held by Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states as outlined in our newly released poll.

The obstacle for the Republican Party to sustainably winning Puerto Rican voters has never been ideology. Unfortunately, it is the reflexive opposition to statehood from voices like outdated, establishment politicians, which has in turn handed Democrats a cost-free opening to look like the only party listening.

Winning Puerto Rican voters matters beyond the 6 million living in the 50 U.S. states, with hundreds of thousands in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and millions in Florida and New York, because control of the House could come down to one district.

All we have to do is look to Pennsylvania’s 7th District for how control of the House could be determined by Puerto Rican voters. This district is currently a top flip target for Democrats as they are vying to unseat freshman Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) who narrowly won his seat in 2024. The district is home to a large Puerto Rican and Dominican population, clocking in at roughly 20 percent of the total population, and Cook Political Report puts the race as a pure toss-up. A few thousands Puerto Rican votes can easily decide this district in November.

And this district is just but one example. Per the Cook Political Report’s swing House district ratings, 12 of the 38 districts are at least 20 percent Hispanic. Reach Puerto Ricans with the right message, and the party could win just enough of these seats to hold onto the gavel in 2027.

Republicans don’t need to make statehood a campaign centerpiece. They simply need to stop attacking it. And they should move fast: Kamala Harris and DNC Chair Ken Martin have both recently voiced support for statehood, a signal that Democrats are eyeing this same opening. If Republicans cede the issue, Democrats will claim the credit the moment they next hold full control of Washington — with the very voters who, according to this poll, are already primed to reward Republicans first.

José Fuentes is a former attorney general of Puerto Rico and chairman of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council.

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