Originally posted by carpedm9587
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Admitting Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. as states would rebalance that, but that is not likely to happen so long as Republicans have a majority in either the House or the Senate. Republicans know they would likely be handing four Senate seats to the Democrats.
Republican Platform:
"We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We further recognize the historic significance of the 2012 local referendum in which a 54 percent majority voted to end Puerto Rico’s current status as a U.S. territory, and 61 percent chose statehood over options for sovereign nationhood. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico’s future admission as the 51st state of the Union."
Democratic Platform:
"Democrats believe that the people of Puerto Rico should determine their ultimate political status from permanent options that do not conflict with the Constitution, laws, and policies of the United States. Democrats are committed to promoting economic opportunity and good-paying jobs for the hardworking people of Puerto Rico. We also believe that Puerto Ricans must be treated equally by Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs that benefit families. Puerto Ricans should be able to vote for the people who make their laws, just as they should be treated equally. All American citizens, no matter where they reside, should have the right to vote for the President of the United States. Finally, we believe that federal officials must respect Puerto Rico’s local self-government as laws are implemented and Puerto Rico’s budget and debt are restructured so that it can get on a path towards stability and prosperity."
The Republican platform is much more explicit in calling for statehood than that of the Democrats.
The reason Puerto Rico isn't a US state is mostly the fact that Puerto Rico has been unable to make up its mind on the subject for a long time and there are no signs that this is going to change anytime soon. While some referendum results indicate strong support for statehood, they often don't mean that much because they get boycotted by opposition groups.
It's also rather questionable that Puerto Rico would be particularly skewed towards Democrats when it comes to Senators. Based on my understanding, Puerto Rico is more liberal on economic matters but conservative on social ones. I think most likely it would end up being a swing state. Actually, they might not go particularly Democrat or Republican... they already have their own longstanding local political parties, those might end up being the major parties in the state, sorta like how the majority of Quebec's representations in the Canadian parliament are usually from the Quebec-exclusive "Bloc Québécois".
What you stated does apply to Washington D.C. though. The Republicans are absolutely opposed to it (it's stated as such in their platform right after the Puerto Rico discussion) and it would be absolutely be a guarantee for two extra Senators for the Democrats... it'd be the most solidly blue state in the entire country if admitted.
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