23 October, a major victory for Fortuño. However, as other political status bills in the past, the measure never made it to the President for his signature. Governor of Puerto Rico: 2009-2013 2008 election A poll taken before Fortuño Burset announced his gubernatorial bid in February 2007 suggests he is the most well-liked public figure in the PNP. The poll, taken by Gaither International at the request of Caribbean Business newspaper, indicated that Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Fortuño's likely opponent, would fare badly in the general election. Another poll released in May 2007 and taken by Kaagan Research Associates, Inc. at the request of El Nuevo Día, a major circulation newspaper, showed Fortuño with a 46% to 25% advantage over incumbent Governor Acevedo Vilá. On 16 May 2007 poll also showed Fortuño winning a primary election against Pedro Rosselló 49% to 37%. On 19 February 2007, Fortuño announced his candidacy for Governor of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general election. He faced former 2004 running mate and former governor Pedro Juan Rosselló González in an PNP primary on 9 March 2008 which he won by a 60% to 40% margin. On 18 May 2007 Fortuño announced that former attorney general Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia would be his running mate and run for Fortuño's current office of resident commissioner of Puerto Rico. Pierluisi Urrutia was a classmate at Colegio Marista, a fellow member of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association and also a fellow cabinet member of Fortuño's during former governor Rosselló's first term from 1993 to 1996. On 9 March 2008, Fortuño easily defeated Rosselló at the PNP primaries and became the new president of the PNP and its official candidate for governor. Fortuño won the candidacy by obtaining nearly 60% of primary votes. Fortuño's running mate and now official candidate for resident commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, also won his primary. On 4 November 2008, Fortuño became the ninth governor-elect of Puerto Rico by popular election winning by over 220,000 votes, the largest victory margin in 44 years and giving the New Progressive Party its largest victory in history. Also he became the second governor to get more than a million votes, after Pedro Rosselló's reelection in 1996. Accompanied with his victory, the party gained control of the legislature by historic margins and the majority of mayoralties, and with it the power to name 3 Supreme Court judges that for the first