And they don't want to remain under their current status, either.

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

> The fifth referendum was held on June 11, 2017. 97% percent voted for statehood, though there was only 23% voter turnout.[1]

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/337347-puerto-rico-votes-in...

This is extremely misleading. The pro-status quo party boycotted the referendum. I'm relatively ignorant of the political situation in PR but it's obvious that this isn't a situation with near-universal consensus.

The pro-status-quo groups have been actively avoiding honest participation from the 1998 vote on, because they'd rather a vote with unclear results than a clear loss (though even so, they clearly lost in 2012, though their non-participation in the “if not status quo, then what” part of that ballot was used as grounds to deny the import of the substantial win by Statehood on that ballot.)

This is correct. I'm surprised at how much bad information there is in this thread. There hasn't been a clear mandate for a desire to become a state from Puerto Ricans and until that happens Congress has indicated it won't do anything. Both parties support the territory's right to self-determination. It has nothing to do with who Puerto Rico is likely to represent in Congress or the Electoral College: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statehood_movement_in_Puerto_R...

What's a "clear mandate"?

A poll where a majority of the population both votes and votes for statehood.

By this standard no president has had a mandate for a long time either

Not wrong.

Okay, I'll pencil you in for 50.01%. I wonder what the clear mandate will be for what a clear mandate is.

Statehood won by the terms of the 2012 referendum and the 2017 do-over the federal government asked for rather than honoring the 2012 result.