Puerto Rico Wants to Become the 51st State

By Mick Eggertsen

Puerto Rican voters on Tuesday favored a ballot measure
endorsing U.S. statehood but also unseated pro-statehood
Republican Gov. Luis Fortuño.

On Wednesday, Fortuno, a member of the New Progressive
Party that supports statehood, conceded to his opponent
Alejandro Garcia Padilla of the Popular Democratic Party,
which wants the island commonwealth to maintain its
current relationship with the United States.

Nearly 1.8 million voters in Puerto Rico participated in
elections even though island residents cannot vote in the
U.S. presidential contest

Nearly 54 percent voted they were not satisfied with the
island's current status and 46 percent voted to keep it the
same. Just over 61 percent voted in favor of statehood and 33
percent backed sovereign free association, which would have
allowed more self-governance. Only 5 percent supported
independence.
The next step for Puerto Rico is to contact congress and ask
them if to become our 51st state.