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Governors of 12 Brazilian states won re-election in the first round

Governor Claudio Castro stunned many by securing nearly 60 percent of the votes on his way to a first-round landslide. Photo: Fernando Frazão/ABr

Governors of 19 Brazilian states were seeking re-election this Sunday, and 12 of them managed to accomplish that already today, not leaving the decisions for the second round.

Of the governors who managed to secure the seat, eight were supported by President Jair Bolsonaro and four by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The last one to be defined was Carlos Brandão, who was seeking re-election in Maranhão. With over 98 percent of the polls counted, he had 51.15 percent of the votes.

Another four current governors are still vying for the second round in Paraíba, Espírito Santo, Alagoas, and Rondônia.

The list of defeated incumbents includes Rodrigo Garcia of São Paulo. The state will have a second round between Fernando Haddad, supported by Lula, and Tarcísio de Freitas, Jair Bolsonaro’s former Infrastructure minister. The 2022 election put an end to a 28-year hegemony of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

Some of those re-elected had a large advantage over their opponents, such as Helder Barbalho (Pará) and Ratinho Júnior (Paraná), who were in the 70-percent range.

#jairBolsonaro

Amanda Audi and Ana Ferraz

Amanda Audi is a journalist specializing in politics and human rights. She is the former executive director of Congresso em Foco and worked as a reporter for The Intercept Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, O Globo, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, among others. In 2019, she won the Comunique-se Award for best-written media reporter and won the Mulher Imprensa award for web journalism in 2020