Luis Dávila Pernas, president of the Puerto Rico Democratic Party, reacted to the arrest of Kissimmee, Florida, Mayor Jackie Espinosa, a Puerto Rican, saying the case should not be read as a reflection of Puerto Rican leadership in Central Florida. He spoke on the program Normando en la Mañana. Dávila Pernas said that, in his view, Espinosa should have resigned "a long time ago" to avoid distractions that affect other Democratic candidates and the party itself, though he said he does not know her personally.
The case follows the earlier arrest of the Osceola County sheriff, also Puerto Rican, which raised the question of whether such incidents hurt the community’s political growth. Dávila Pernas rejected that reading: "In Central Florida there are over a million Puerto Ricans... I believe there is corruption everywhere and I certainly believe it does not affect."
He attributed part of the phenomenon to demographics, saying a place full of Puerto Ricans will likely elect another Puerto Rican, and that "there is always a bad apple here and there." He also rejected generalizing the case by ethnic origin. On midterm campaigning, he said he was traveling that day to Georgia to appear with Senator Jon Ossoff and the next day with Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey, part of a Democratic effort to expand beyond places like Orlando and New York.
He was optimistic about the House and called the Senate "very possible." He cited Roy Cooper in North Carolina and said that by holding New Hampshire and winning Maine, North Carolina and possibly Alaska, Democrats could retake control without winning Texas. He acknowledged a challenge for Representative Darren Soto’s reelection in Florida.
He also noted declining Puerto Rican representation in Congress, citing changed demographics in Luis Gutiérrez’s former Chicago district and saying Ritchie Torres in the Bronx has been less vocal on community issues than José Serrano or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.