2026 Rio Grande do Norte general election

2026 Rio Grande do Norte general election
4 October 2026 (first round)
25 October 2026 (second round, if needed)

The 2026 Rio Grande do Norte general election will be held on 4 October 2026 in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte as part of the 2026 general election. Voters will elect a Governor, a Vice Governor, two Senators, 8 representatives to the Chamber of Deputies, and 24 members of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Norte. If no candidate for governor receives a majority of the valid votes in the first round, a runoff will be held on 25 October 2026.[1]

Incumbent governor Fátima Bezerra of the Workers' Party (PT), reelected in 2022, is term-limited and ineligible to run for a third consecutive term.[2] Incumbent senators Styvenson Valentim (PSDB) and Zenaide Maia (PSD) are completing their eight-year terms and are both eligible to seek reelection.[3]

Background

Fátima Bezerra was first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, and under Brazilian electoral law she cannot run for a third consecutive term as governor. In early 2025, Vice Governor Walter Alves (MDB) announced that he would not seek the governorship, after which the PT-led state government rallied behind Finance Secretary Carlos Eduardo Xavier ("Cadu Xavier") as its candidate.[3]

On the opposition side, Senator Rogério Marinho (PL) withdrew his pre-candidacy for governor in late 2025 in order to coordinate the presidential campaign of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), opening space for former Natal mayor Álvaro Dias (Republicanos) to consolidate support from the right and center-right.[3]

Electoral system

The governor and vice governor are elected on a joint ticket by a two-round system: a candidate who receives more than half of the valid votes in the first round is elected outright; otherwise, the top two candidates advance to a runoff. Senators are elected by simple plurality, with each voter casting votes for two candidates since two of the state's three Senate seats are up for election. Federal and state deputies are elected by open-list proportional representation.

Gubernatorial election

Candidates

Governor Previous office Vice Governor Previous office Coalition Ref.
Party
Federation		 Candidate Party
Federation		 Candidate
PT
FE Brasil		 Cadu Xavier State Secretary of Finance
(2023–2026)		 PSB Larissa Rosado N/a The Team That Cares

(FE Brasil (PT, PCdoB, and PV), PDT, and PSB)

 [4]
PSTU Dário Barbosa No previous office PSTU Fernanda Soares No previous office N/a [5]
PL Álvaro Dias Mayor of Natal
(2018–2025)		 PL Babá Pereira Mayor of São Tomé
(2008–2012; 2017–2025)		 Straighten Out RN

(PL, Fed. PSDB/CID (PSDB and CID), PODE, and NOVO)

 [4][6][7]
AGIR Rodrigo Bolsonaro No previous office TBD TBD N/a [8]
UNIÃO
Fed. UPB		 Allyson Bezerra Mayor of Mossoró
(2021–2026)		 MDB Hermano Morais N/a Hope and Work

(Fed. UPB (UNIÃO and PP), PSD, REP, Fed. Solidarity Renewal (SD and PRD), AVANTE, and MDB)

 [4][3]
PSOL

Fed. PSOL REDE

 Robério Paulino No previous office TBD Leny Grilo N/a (Fed. PSOL REDE (PSOL and REDE)) [9]
UP Francisco Dias No previous office UP TBD N/a N/a [10]

Senate election

Two of Rio Grande do Norte's three Senate seats are up for election. Polling published in late 2025 and early 2026 showed incumbents Styvenson Valentim and Zenaide Maia leading intention-to-vote surveys, with Colonel Hélio (PL) and others trailing.[11]

Senator Previous office Alternate Coalition Ref.
Party
Federation		 Candidate Party Candidate
PDT Rafael Motta Federal Deputy
(2015–2023)		 PDT Jean Paul Prates The Team Which Cares
(FE Brasil (PT, PCdoB, and PV), PDT, and PSB)		 [12]
PDT Márcio Nunes
PT
FE Brasil		 Samanda Alves No previous office PT Pluvia Oliveira The Team Which Cares
(FE Brasil (PT, PCdoB, and PV), PDT, and PSB)		 [12]
PCdoB Oswaldo Negrão
PSTU Luciana Lima No previous office PSTU N/a [12]
PSTU
PSTU Rosália Fernandes No previous office PSTU N/a [12]
PSTU
PODE Styvenson Valentim Senator
(2019–present)		 PODE Anne Kelly Valentim Straighten Out RN
(PL, Fed. PSDB/CID (PSDB and CID), PODE, and NOVO)		 [12]
PSDB Milena Galvão
PL Coronel Hélio No previous office PSDB Valério Marinho Straighten Out RN
(PL, Fed. PSDB/CID (PSDB and CID), PODE, and NOVO)		 [12]
PL Gabriela Fagundes
UNIÃO Tércio Tinoco UNIÃO Marcos Solano Hope and Work
(Fed. UPB (UNIÃO and PP), PSD, REP, Fed. Solidarity Renewal (SD and PRD), AVANTE, and MDB)
PP Dadaia Ribeiro
PSOL
Fed. PSOL REDE		 Sandro Pimentel State Deputy
(2019–present)		 PSOL Danniel Morais N/a [12]
REDE Wesley
PSOL
Fed. PSOL REDE		 Sônia Godeiro No previous office PSOL Modesto Neto N/a [12]
PSOL Santino Arruda
PSD Zenaide Maia Senator
(2019–present)		 REP Netinho Lins Hope and Work
(Fed. UPB (UNIÃO and PP), PSD, REP, Fed. Solidarity Renewal (SD and PRD), AVANTE, and MDB)		 [12]
UNIÃO Odete Lopes

Chamber of Deputies election

Eight seats in the federal Chamber of Deputies allocated to Rio Grande do Norte will be contested under open-list proportional representation.

Legislative Assembly election

All 24 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Norte will be contested.

Opinion polling

≥===2026===

Pollster firm Polling period Bezerra
UNIÃO		 Dias
PL		 Xavier
PT		 Paulino
PSOL		 Others Blank
Null
Undec.		 Error Sample size Lead Link
Data Census 18–20 Apr 40.4 18.6 13.8 1.8 N/a 25.6 ±2.1 pp 2,000 21.8 [13]
Exatus 14–17 Apr 37.3 24.9 10.7 4.5 3.4[a] 19.2 ±2.51 pp 1,518 12.4 [14]
Veritá 29 Mar–4 Apr 29.6 27.5 26.6 0.9 15.4[b] 21.8 ±3 pp 1,220 2.1[c] [15]
Seta 31 Mar–2 Apr 39.4 23.7 10.3 N/a N/a 26.6 ±2.5 pp 1,500 15.7 [16]
Metadata/Grupo Dial[d] 27–28 Mar 28.8 37.2 10.7 N/a N/a 23.3 ±3.1 pp 1,000 8.4 [17]
Data Ranking/Fonte83 24–26 Mar 39.2 20.6 9.1 N/a N/a 31.1 ±2.19 pp 1,500 18.6 [18]
Media Inteligência 23–26 Mar 27.2 30.8 10.8 2.1 N/a 29.1 ±2.2 pp 2,000 3.6 [19]
Consult/TN 15–18 Mar 29.24 31.18 6.35 1.65 N/a 31.59 ±2.37 pp 1,700 1.94[e] [20]
Seta 7–9 Mar 37.3 21.5 8.1 N/a N/a 33.1 ±2.5 pp 1,500 15.8 [21]
March Álvaro Dias leaves Republicans for the Liberal Party, replacing Rogério Marinho as the PL's pre-candidate after Marinho declined to run.
  1. ↑ Dário Barbosa 3.4%.
  2. ↑ Rogério Marinho (PL) 15.4%.
  3. ↑ Three-way technical tie within margin of error.
  4. ↑ Natal only.
  5. ↑ Technical tie within margin of error.

2025

Pollster firm Polling period Bezerra
UNIÃO		 Marinho
PL		 Dias
REP		 Xavier
PT		 Bonavides
PT		 Styvenson
PSDB		 Walter
MDB		 Others Blank
Null
Undec.		 Error Sample size Lead Link
Consult/TN 2–5 Dec 30.47 28.76 N/a 6.41 N/a N/a N/a N/a 34.36 ±2.3 pp 1,700 1.71[a] [22]
Real Time Big Data 1–2 Dec 36 34 N/a 10 N/a N/a N/a N/a 20 ±3 pp 1,200 2[b] [23]
Consult/TN 23–27 Oct 30.88 28.47 N/a 5.76 N/a N/a N/a N/a 34.89 ±2.3 pp 1,700 2.41[c] [24]
Real Time Big Data 24–25 Sep 35 29 12 6 N/a N/a N/a N/a 18 ±3 pp 1,200 6 [25]
Paraná Pesquisas 6–10 Sep 30 28.2 16.4 8.6 N/a N/a N/a N/a 16.8 ±2.6 pp 1,505 1.8[d] [26]
Consult/TN 9–13 May 23.24 16.29 N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a 60.47 ±2.3 pp 1,700 6.95 [27]
Paraná Pesquisas 18–21 Feb 22.2 14.1 9.2 N/a 17.5 22.5 3.8 N/a 10.7 ±2.9 pp 1,220 0.3[e] [28]
Consult[f] 9–13 Jan 7.0 10.5 19.5 N/a 14.5 18.88 1.75 0.5[g] 27.4 ±3.5 pp 800 0.6[h] [29]
  1. ↑ Technical tie within margin of error.
  2. ↑ Technical tie within margin of error.
  3. ↑ Technical tie within margin of error.
  4. ↑ Technical tie within margin of error.
  5. ↑ Three-way technical tie within margin of error.
  6. ↑ Natal only.
  7. ↑ Ezequiel Ferreira (PSDB) 0.5%.
  8. ↑ Technical tie within margin of error.

References

  1. ↑ "2026 Rio Grande do Sul general election". Wikipedia.
  2. ↑ "RN e as perspectivas da eleição de 2026". Tribuna do Norte. 30 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sucessão estadual 2026: Três nomes e o futuro do Rio Grande do Norte". De Fato. 24 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Bombig, Beatriz; Gimenez, Beto (13 February 2026). "Quem são os possíveis candidatos a governador do Rio Grande do Norte nas eleições 2026". JOTA Jornalismo. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Soares, Valcidney (8 April 2026). "PSTU anuncia chapa própria para Governo do RN e Senado". Saiba Mais. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Giovanni, Bruno (21 May 2026). "Styvenson explica escolha por Álvaro Dias ao Governo do RN". Blog do BG.
  7. ↑ "Álvaro Dias confirma Babá Pereira como seu pré-candidato a vice-governador". DeFato.com. 4 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "Um 'Bolsonaro' na disputa ao Governo do RN". Potiguar News. 15 April 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Tribuna do Norte, Redação (14 March 2026). "Professor Robério Paulino assegura vaga na disputa ao governo pelo PSOL". Tribuna do Norte. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Soares, Valcidney (5 May 2026). "UP lança Francisco Dias como pré-candidato ao Governo do RN". Saiba Mais. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Styvenson Valentim e Zenaide Maia lideram intenções de voto para o Senado no RN". O Poti. April 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Vital, Bruno (26 June 2026). "Quem são os pré-candidatos ao Senado pelo Rio Grande do Norte". g1.
  13. ↑ "Allyson Bezerra lidera pesquisa para o Governo do RN com 40,4% das intenções de voto". Gazeta do RN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 April 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Allyson teria cerca de 980 mil votos se eleições fossem hoje, diz Exatus". Apodi Diário (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 April 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Pesquisa Veritá: Álvaro Dias lidera cenário espontâneo com folga para o Governo do RN". BNews Natal (in Brazilian Portuguese). 8 April 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Pesquisa Seta: Allyson Bezerra ganharia, no cenário atual, a disputa para governador no primeiro turno". Jota Ribamar (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 April 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Pesquisa do Instituto Metadata/Grupo Dial aponta Álvaro Dias na liderança para o Governo do RN". Tribuna de Notícias (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1 April 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Instituto Data Ranking/Fonte83 divulgam pesquisa para o Governo do RN". Fonte 83 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 29 March 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Em nova pesquisa, Álvaro ultrapassa Allyson Bezerra". Blog Carol Ribeiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). 27 March 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "TN/Consult: Álvaro Dias lidera a disputa pelo Governo do RN". Blog Nelson Dantas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 March 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Intenção de voto: Allyson Bezerra lidera na pesquisa Seta; Álvaro Dias lidera na pesquisa Consult". Iband RN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 20 March 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Consult: diferença de Allyson para Rogério cai para 1,71 ponto". Tribuna do Norte (in Brazilian Portuguese). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Eleições 2026: pesquisa monitora a disputa pelo governo e pelo Senado no RN". CartaCapital (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 December 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "Terceira pesquisa Consult mostra empate técnico entre Allyson e Rogério no RN". Blog Neto Queiroz (in Brazilian Portuguese). 29 October 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "Real Time Big Data: Bezerra e Marinho lideram disputa pelo governo do RN". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 26 September 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Allyson Bezerra e Rogério Marinho lideram pesquisa no RN". Gazeta do Povo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 12 September 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Para o governo, Allyson tem 23,24% e Rogério tem 16,29%". Tribuna do Norte (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  28. ↑ "Disputa para governador do RN tem empate triplo, mostra pesquisa". Poder360 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 March 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Álvaro lidera corrida pelo governo do RN, diz Consult". Tribuna do Norte (in Brazilian Portuguese). 17 January 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
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