As resident commissioner, Fortuño represented Puerto Rico in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2009; during his tenure, he served as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, as a Member of the newly created United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs and as co-chair of the Friends of Spain Caucus.

Fortuño won the 2008 PNP gubernatorial nomination by a wide margin after defeating former governor and then-senator Pedro Rosselló in the primaries.

Fortuño has served as president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP), the Council of State Governments, and the Southern Governors Association.

He then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in diplomacy from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

[9] During the 1980 gubernatorial election recount, PRSSA generated more than 1,500 absentee ballots at Fortuño's direction for incumbent Governor Carlos Romero Barceló.

He is married to attorney Lucé Vela-Gutierrez; they have triplets, María Luisa, Luis Roberto, and Guillermo (born 1991) who were college students at mainland U.S.

Fortuño was tasked with the development and implementation of large-scale changes of Puerto Rico's tax, labor, corporate and commercial codes.

He served on numerous boards of directors, including the Ana G. Méndez University System and the Puerto Rico Museum of Art.

[citation needed] Fortuño decided to seek the New Progressive Party's nomination for the post of resident commissioner of Puerto Rico late in the primary season.

Fortuño's running mate, Pedro Rosselló, lost his bid for the governor's seat to then resident commissioner Aníbal Acevedo Vilá by less than 4,000 votes.

In October, 2007, Fortuño filed legislation, along with Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to assure the continued operation of the Arecibo Radiotelescope.

Fortuño was re-elected by the Republican Party of Puerto Rico's General Assembly to continue serving as National Committeeman, a position he has held since 2001.

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.

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.

With this win, Fortuño would have the opportunity to name various fixed-term posts, including the comptroller, the ombudsman and the director of the Government Ethics Office.

On 9 November, he announced the appointment of outgoing Senate president Kenneth McClintock as the head of the Incoming Committee on Government Transition.

[19] On 11 November, he began announcing the members of his Cabinet and other administration officials, beginning with McClintock's appointment as secretary of state, equivalent to a lieutenant governor.

At the end of his four-year term, Fortuño had retained 5 of the 14 members of his original constitutional cabinet, the secretaries of state, transportation, economic development and commerce, natural resources, and sports and recreation.

A year later, Fortuño joined with other Republican governors, signing a letter that asked for the "full repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

On 1 May 2009, a mass of workers marched through the streets of San Juan in response to the governor's plan, protesting the government's preparation for impending layoffs.

On 15 October 2009, thousands of Puerto Rican workers and supporters gathered for what organizers tried to pass as a "general strike" over government budget cuts.

[26] The walkout was the largest labor protest in public schools on the island since a 10-day strike in 2008 as teachers demanded improved wages and working conditions.

[41] More recently, Republican consultant Roger Stone mentioned Fortuño as a potential vice presidential nominee to win Hispanic American votes in 2012.

The initiative, titled "Growth Beyond Our Borders," focused on creating jobs and increasing exports from Southern states and territories by the end of 2012 by enabling private sector businesses and entrepreneurs to tap into dynamic and emerging Latin American markets, which represent 550 million prospective clients.