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Poll Tracker: Brazil’s 2026 Presidential Election

By Chase Harrison and Luisa Leme

Lula is seeking a fourth term as Flávio Bolsonaro attempts to avenge his ex-president father. The first round is October 4.

This poll tracker was originally published on February 11, 2026, and has since been updated.

A rematch of sorts is on in Brazil’s 2026 presidential race. Incumbent leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003–2011, 2023–present) of the Workers’ Party (PT) is running for an unprecedented fourth term at the age of 80. His foe in the last election, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2023), is ineligible to run after being indicted and imprisoned in September for plotting a coup.

But the Bolsonaro name will still be on the ballot. The ex-president endorsed one of his sons, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, as candidate for Liberal Party (PL) to carry the family flag of his far-right movement.

Lula and Bolsonaro are not the only candidates in the field. Governor of Minas Gerais Romeu Zema (2019–2026) of the NOVO party and ex-Governor of Goiás Ronaldo Caiado (2019–2026) of the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) are in the running, as is Renan Santos, an anti-establishment activist. The campaign period ends October 3.

Ahead of the October 4 first round, how are Brazil’s 156 million voters viewing the contest?

 

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