(Bloomberg) -- Long-shot, third-party candidate Juan Dalmau has surged to a virtual tie in Puerto Rico’s governor race, propelled by his pledge to end tax breaks for wealthy newcomers to the island.
Dalmau, the head of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, is now in a statistical dead heat with 29% support against 31% for Jenniffer Gonzalez, with the ruling New Progressive Party, according to a Gaither International poll for El Vocero, WAPA TV and WKAQ released Monday. In July, Gonzalez held a commanding 43% lead over Dalmau’s 24%.
Dalmau has tapped into frustration with the island’s two-party system by proposing broad tax and energy reforms. Anger over local politics propelled Puerto Rican rap singer Bad Bunny to pay for billboards in San Juan asking people not to vote for the New Progressive Party, which is known as the PNP. He hasn’t endorsed any candidate so far.
A Harvard-educated attorney and local politician, Dalmau wants to eliminate Puerto Rico’s resident investor program, known as Act 22, which offers benefits such as a 4% income tax rate and zero capital gains tax to some wealthy individuals who move to the US territory. The program has lured more than 2,600 people as of 2022, according to government data.
He also promises to cancel contracts for the companies in charge of Puerto Rico’s troubled power grid, including a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy Inc. Any of his proposed changes to tax or energy policies would face scrutiny from both local lawmakers and the federally appointed oversight board that controls Puerto Rico’s finances.
If Dalmau were to win, it would be a seismic shift for the island. Puerto Rico has been governed by two parties — the PNP and the Popular Democratic Party — since it was given full voting rights in 1948. Dalmau’s party advocates for the territory’s full independence from the US.
With just a week to go before election day, Gonzalez, a longtime Republican and Donald Trump supporter, is facing the backlash after Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, speaking at the event, called the US territory a “floating island of garbage.”
Gonzalez called the comments “despicable, misguided and revolting,” emphasizing in a post on X that they do not reflect GOP values.
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