The Dems are after 2 more liberal Senatorial seats and something like 6 (?) House seats, plus the votes of the PRs, of course. Anyone who opposes this will be deemed racist.
At first when I heard it was non binding I thought no big deal - plus after 3 votes already on this by the people of Puerto Rico voting NO all three times, I thought there is little chance of them voting yes this time. But it's not about Statehood, its about pushing another race issue to the front page as we go into election cycle, to make those opposing look racist. The Dems know there is little chance of Puerto Rico becoming a state anytime soon, and they don't really care, because this is all about gaining something else from this.