2012 New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico primaries

The 2012 New Progressive Party primaries were the primary elections by which voters of the New Progressive Party (PNP) chose its nominees for various political offices of Puerto Rico for the 2012 general elections. They were held on March 18, 2012 and coincided with the Republican Party primaries in the island.

Background
At the time of the primaries, the New Progressive Party had already chosen current Governor Luis Fortuño, as their gubernatorial candidate for reelection. He would be joined again in the ballot by current Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi. There was the possibility for a primary between Fortuño and aspiring candidate Iván González Cancel, but he wasn't certified by the Commission. González appealed the decision in the courts, but the case was still pending at the time of the primaries.

In the Senate, there were 14 sitting senators looking to retain their election spots. In the House, there were around 6 sitting at-large representatives as well. Also, some returning candidates from previous years, like Carlos Díaz, and other former officeholders, like María Milagros Charbonier and Zoé Laboy, were entering the political race. Current representative Liza M. Fernández was running for a Senate seat this time, while her husband, Angel Pérez, was running for a representative seat in District 6.

Sitting representative Cristóbal Colón Ruíz was also looking to gain an election spot to be mayor of Patillas, against sitting mayor Benjamín Cintrón. There were fifteen sitting mayor from the PNP that were challenged in primaries.

Also, the amount of primaries per municipality and districts were few, when compared to previous years. As a result, the primaries were expected to be of low participation among the party members.

At-large

 * Lucy Arce
 * Héctor Morales
 * Margarita Nolasco
 * Itzamar Peña


 * Kimmey Raschke
 * Thomas Rivera Schatz
 * Melinda Romero
 * Larry Seilhamer

District
The New Progressive Party held primaries on 5 of the 8 senatorial districts.

San Juan

 * Eddie Charbonier
 * Liza M. Fernández
 * Zoé Laboy

Arecibo

 * Edgardo "Eggie" Centeno
 * José Emilio González Velázquez
 * Juan Miguel Guzmán
 * Angel Martínez Santiago
 * José "Joito" Pérez
 * Elaine "Tuti" Soler

Mayagüez-Aguadilla

 * Frank Hernández
 * Luis Daniel Muñiz Cortes
 * Alfredo Ocasio
 * Evelyn Vázquez
 * Benjamín "Bengie" Velázquez

Guayama

 * Osvaldo Colón Reyes
 * William "Willie" Jiménez
 * Miguelito Rodríguez
 * Marangely Sáez
 * Carlos J. Torres Torres

Humacao

 * Juan Bautista
 * José R. Díaz Hernández
 * Alexis Quiñones
 * Luz M. Santiago González

At-large

 * Néstor Alonso
 * José Aponte
 * José Chico
 * Jenniffer González
 * Jorge Irizarry


 * José E. Meléndez Ortíz
 * María Milagros Charbonier
 * Yumary Peña
 * Lourdes Ramos
 * José "Pichy" Torres Zamora

District
The New Progressive Party held primaries on 18 of the 40 representative districts.

District 4

 * Carlos Díaz
 * Víctor Parés

District 6

 * Angel Pérez Otero
 * Antonio "Tony" Soto

District 11

 * José "Cano" Montes
 * María Vega Pagán

District 14

 * Ricardo Llerandi
 * Paula Rodríguez Homs

District 16

 * Eric Alfaro Calero
 * Armando Nieves

District 18

 * David Bonilla Cortés
 * Angel Muñoz
 * Alejandro Torres Babilonia

District 19

 * Rafael Beauchamp
 * Manuel Feliciano
 * Orlando "Pochy" Orta
 * Juan Alberto Zapata

District 21

 * Noel Morales, Jr.
 * Ramoncito Ramos

District 22

 * Exel López
 * Luis Maldonado
 * Waldemar Quiles

District 25

 * Roberto González Rosa
 * Luis Mercado Fraticelli
 * Luis Armando Rivera

District 26

 * Urayoán Hernández
 * José Luis Jiménez

District 29

 * Carlos Junior Aponte
 * Adalberto Reyes

District 31

 * John Corales
 * Roberto López

District 32

 * José R. Camino
 * Orlando Rivera
 * Rafael Uceta

District 34

 * Félix "Johnny" Figueroa
 * José Iván Medina
 * Pickie Díaz

District 35

 * Ciary Pérez
 * Reinaldo Vargas

District 38

 * Eric Correa
 * Israel Matos Vázquez

District 40

 * Angel Camacho
 * Elizabeth Casado

Mayors
The New Progressive Party held primaries in 24 of 78 municipalities.

Aguada

 * Luis "Berty" Echevarría
 * Manuel Santiago

Arecibo

 * Carlos Molina
 * Lemuel Soto

Cabo Rojo

 * Perza Rodríguez
 * José "Chiquin" Morales

Cayey

 * Wilson Colón
 * Omar Vázquez

Ceiba

 * Pedro Colón Osorio
 * Angelo Cruz

Cidra

 * Javier Carrasquillo
 * Pedro "Banchy" Cintrón

Culebra

 * Emerito Amaro
 * Ricardo López

Florida

 * Julio "Kosovo" Carrión
 * José Gerena Polanco
 * Aarón Pargas

Guayanilla

 * Janice González
 * Julissa Nolasco

Hormigueros

 * Augustine "Chito" Olivencia
 * José "Joe" Rodríguez

Humacao

 * Julio César López
 * Lucrecia Ortíz

Isabela

 * Gabriel Machado
 * Juvencio "Papo" Méndez
 * José Sotomayor

Jayuya

 * Roberto Pagán Crespí
 * Luis Ernesto Torres

Loíza

 * Ferdín Carrasquillo
 * Eddie Manso

Luquillo

 * Eva Benabe Torrens
 * José "Nelo" González
 * David Pizarro Rivera

Manatí

 * Juan Aubín Cruz Manzano
 * José Sánchez

Naguabo

 * Noé Marcano
 * Maritza Meléndez

Patillas

 * Benjamín Cintrón
 * Cristóbal Colón Ruíz

Salinas

 * Basilio "Cholito" Baerga
 * Carlos Rodríguez Mateo

San Sebastián

 * Joselly González
 * Javier Jiménez

Toa Alta

 * Luis "Jumbo" Collazo
 * Luis Visaldén

Utuado

 * Héctor "Tito" Camacho
 * Doris Nilda González
 * Juan Lamboy
 * José "Junior" Pagán
 * Jorgito Pérez

Vega Baja

 * José Galán
 * Iván Hernández González

Allegations of fraud
On the same day of the primaries, PPD Electoral Commissioner Eder Ortíz, claimed he had evidence of fraud from the PNP primaries.

Sitting senators losing
Senators Evelyn Vázquez (District IV) and José Emilio González (District III) had their candidatures at risk. Vázquez win over Benjamín Velázquez was close and could go to a recount, while José Emilio González claimed there were irregularities that could have led to his loss.

Representative District 6
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the primaries for the House of Representatives District 6. Both candidates, Angel Pérez and Antonio Soto, have exchanged leads and have been announced as winners after different vote counts. Pérez, who had initially appeared as the loser, claimed there was fraud in the election, and accused Guaynabo mayor, Héctor O'Neill, of orchestrating it. When Pérez was announced as the real winner, O'Neill, who supported Pagán's rival, went into a rant on a radio interview against his own party.

Incumbent mayors losses
Several sitting mayors from the PNP lost their candidacies for the elections. Some of them were Benjamín Cintrón (from Patillas), Lemuel Soto (Arecibo), and Maritza Meléndez (Naguabo).