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By Maya Mehrara
News Reporter
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A new poll has found that most Americans support making Puerto Rico a U.S. state.
YouGov surveyed 7,200 Americans on October 29, asking if Puerto Rico were to vote in favor of becoming a state, whether respondents would support or oppose it.
The poll found that overall 59 percent of respondents were in support, 16 percent said they would oppose it, and 25 percent said they were not sure.
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Democrats and independents were more likely to support Puerto Rican statehood than Republicans — 79 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of independents, and 41 percent of Republicans said they would support Puerto Rico's statehood; 6 percent of Democrats, 15 percent of Independents, and 29 percent of Republicans would oppose it; 15 percent of Democrats, 29 percent of Independents, and 31 percent of Republicans responded that they were unsure.
In categorizing respondents by race, age, and gender, survey respondents were nearly tied in their support for Puerto Rico's statehood.
The poll comes as Puerto Ricans prepare to vote on statehood on November 5. Voters will choose from three options on the ballot: statehood, independence, or sovereignty in free association with the United States.
The poll also follows a controversial joke made by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Donald Trump's rally in New York on Sunday, in which he called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
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YouGov conducted a similar poll in 2016, but asked respondents what they thought was the best option for Puerto Rico in terms of political status, according to the Puerto Rico Report.
The majority of respondents in 2016, 29 percent, said that they thought Puerto Rico's best option was statehood, while 25 percent said Puerto Rico should remain a territory, and 20 percent responded in favor of independence.
YouGov's October 29 survey also asked respondents if they would support the island becoming an independent country if residents voted in favor of it, and the majority of respondents said yes.
Overall, 52 percent of respondents said they would support Puerto Rico's declaring independence if they wished to, while 13 percent opposed it, and 36 percent said they were unsure.
Similarly, 56 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of independents, and 46 percent of Republicans said they would support Puerto Rican independence.
Mirroring the previous survey, Republicans, at 17 percent, said they would oppose independence, more than Democrats, 12 percent, and Independents, at 10 percent.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Puerto Rico has a population of 3 million, and there are 5.8 million people of Puerto Rican descent living in the U.S.
A Pew Research report from last year found that Puerto Ricans are the second-largest Hispanic population in the US.
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