Dems Put Spotlight on Puerto Rico

Today’s Democratic primary in Puerto Rico will bring the island the national attention many residents seek—but not for the right cause. Puerto Ricans are less excited about the Democratic presidential candiates—neither of whom will they get to vote for in November—than the perennial issue of how to resolve their not-quite-statehood, the Boston Globe reports. And some are angry that the government is spending $2.5 million on the primary, rather than the usual caucuses.

“We'll get the spotlight for a little bit. They say they will do something for us, to fix the status problem,” says one resident. But the island is “not a priority” in Washington, he adds. Hillary Clinton is favored to win the contest, but the candidates agree on the issue voters say matters most: Puerto Rico’s right to decide its own future, as a state, commonwealth, or independent country. (More Puerto Rico stories.)