 He then lost again to Romero Barceló in 1980, in this second matchup by a slim margin of approximately 3,000 votes, or 0.2%.Hernández Colón ran again against Romero Barceló in the November 1984 elections and was victorious by about 54,000 votes (48 to 45% respectively).He won re-election in the 1988 election, besting his main rival Baltasar Corrada del Río by 49 to 46% ().