Puerto Rico is usually a mere footnote in U.S. presidential politics.

But with 55 pledged delegates up for grabs June 1 in the Democratic primary, Puerto Ricans are reveling in a rare moment of national attention.

Ricardo Rivera hopes the outcome does more than tip the scales in the ongoing race between New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

“It’s an opportunity for Americans to finally understand what Puerto Rico is all about,” said Rivera, 42, the owner of Souveniles de Puerto Rico, a souvenir shop.

That understanding, Rivera said, should include a few basic facts: Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens who live in an ambiguously defined commonwealth, enlist in the military at higher rates than in most states, but can’t vote for president.

As Republicans and Democrats wrestle for the White House, one issue marks Puerto Rico’s political life, defines allegiances and drives voters to the polls at one of the highest rates in the world: the island’s political status. The ruling Popular Democratic Party, led by Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila supports keeping the status quo as a commonwealth. The New Progressive Party would make Puerto Rico a state. A third group, the Independistas, want a clean break from the U.S.

The status debate saturates local media and casual conversation daily. Elections for governor – the island’s top executive post – are surrogate votes on the question and are celebrated as holidays.

Observers say similar excitement surrounds the June 1 primary, the first in decades to influence the Democratic party’s nomination process.

Polls on the island show Clinton, whose state is home to more than one million Puerto Ricans, has the edge. Over Memorial Day weekend in stops at Aguadilla, Ponce and other towns, Clinton tapped the island’s growing anti-war sentiment by speaking to soldiers’ families and pledging to bring home the troops.

Stumping on the island Saturday, Obama reached out to veterans in Bayamon before speaking at a salsa-and-reggaeton infused parade in San Juan. Obama won the support of Gov. Acevedo in February, a bittersweet endorsement after Acevedo was indicted a month later on federal campaign finance and tax violations.

“These are exciting times for Puerto Rico. People are not accustomed to seeing presidential candidates making detailed commitments to the island,” said Roberto Prats, chairman of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and a Clinton supporter who spoke from San Juan. “We’re getting platforms defined for us on healthcare, education, environmental policies and public safety.”

Both candidates, however, have carefully avoided taking sides in the debate over Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States.

Across party lines among South Florida’s 195,000 Puerto Ricans, many say the island’s current role in the American electoral process makes little sense.

“If we can’t vote for president, why get wrapped up in a primary? It’s a waste of money and effort and only creates more division on the island,” said Max Lucena, 66, of Greenacres, Fla., who supports presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.

When asked for comment on the primary, some local Puerto Ricans declined, saying they came to South Florida to escape island politics. But their stateside-born children want the opposite, said Nydia Menendez, an attorney and president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association

The New York-born Menendez is organizing a panel on the island’s history and politics.

“Congress has always said “Let the people of Puerto Rico decide,’ but it’s never been a priority,” said Menendez, referring to the island’s eternal polemic. “Now there’s all this brouhaha over the primary because people are realizing that Puerto Ricans could affect the election.”