Anti-Trump San Juan Mayor Loses Bid for Governor

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz (PDP), who rose to the national spotlight after routinely criticizing President Trump and his administration over the nation’s response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, lost her primary bid for governor of Puerto Rico over the weekend.

Cruz failed to secure the Popular Democratic Party’s (PDP) nomination for governor, losing to Carlos Delgado in what amounted to a messy primary hallmarked by missing ballots and delays.

According to the Miami Herald, Delgado led with 63 percent of the vote with 60 percent of precincts reporting Sunday evening. Puerto Rico Sen. Eduardo Bhatia fell behind Delgado with 23 percent of the vote, followed by Cruz with 13, the outlet reported.

The San Juan mayor rose to national fame after criticizing the Trump administration over the nation’s response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017. She has continued to lodge criticism toward the president in the intervening years, referring to him as a “racist” and blaming him for the death of thousands of Puerto Ricans.

“Will his racism and vindictive behavior towards the people of Puerto Rico ever end?” she asked following Trump’s August 2019 tweet which read, “Wow! Yet another big storm heading to Puerto Rico. Will it ever end? Congress approved 92 Billion Dollars for Puerto Rico last year, an all time record of its kind for ‘anywhere'”:

“We are not going to be concerned by, frankly, his behavior, his lack of understanding, and it is ludicrous. Three-thousand Puerto Ricans did not open their eyes this morning because this racist man did not have it within him to do his job,” Cruz told CNN at the time.

Cruz who has also referred to herself as a “climate change survivor,” accepted her election defeat, congratulating Delgado for his victory.

“Obviously the PDP and its constituents decided another way,” she said, according to Noticel. “I just sent Mayor Charlie Delgado a text congratulating him on his victory today.”

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez of the New Progressive Party (NPP), which supports statehood for Puerto Rico, also lost her primary bid to challenger Pedro Pierluisi.