Progressive Politics

My family and friends who are Puerto Rican talk about this nonstop. People in gov positions who are Puerto Rican also being it up.

Most of the time it's brought up, it's never been newsworthy.

Not as such, but it wasn't clear cut either. Partly due to the ballot language, it says.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_statehood_movement

Although the previous two referendums (November 2012 and June 2017) also had ostensibly pro-statehood outcomes, The New York Times described them as "marred, with ballot language phrased to favor the party in office".

For example, the fourth referendum, held in November 2012, asked voters (1) whether they wanted to maintain the current political status of Puerto Rico and, if not, (2) which alternative status they prefer. Of the fifty-four percent (54.0%) who voted "No" on maintaining the status quo, 61.11% chose statehood, 33.34% chose free association, and 5.55% chose independence.

25% of their GDP is federal money given by the US government and they have $37 Billion in public debt. Independence would demolish their economy right now. They would need a long onramp (or offramp, as it were) to make that work, but if it's what they wanted to do, I would certainly support it.