2026 Goiás general election

The 2026 Goiás general elections are scheduled to be held on 4 October 2026 to elect the governor, vice governor, two senators, 17 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 41 members of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás. If no candidate for governor receives more than half of the valid votes, a second round will be held on 25 October.

The 2026 electoral process will determine whether incumbent governor Daniel Vilela of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) will remain in office for a full term. Vilela was elected vice governor in the 2022 Goiás gubernatorial election as the running mate of Ronaldo Caiado, then a member of Brazil Union (UNIÃO). Caiado was reelected in the first round with 51.81% of the valid vote, defeating former mayor Gustavo Mendanha. He resigned on 31 March 2026 in order to run for president of Brazil, and Vilela subsequently assumed the governorship.

In the Federal Senate election, the seats held by Vanderlan Cardoso of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Jorge Kajuru of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) are up for election. Cardoso is seeking reelection, while Kajuru announced his retirement from electoral politics in January 2026.

Background

Electoral calendar

Ronaldo Caiado was reelected governor in the first round of the 2022 Goiás gubernatorial election with 51.81% of the valid vote. His principal opponent was former mayor of Aparecida de Goiânia Gustavo Mendanha, then a member of Patriota. Caiado had previously been elected governor in the first round in 2018 with 59.73% of the valid vote.

His 2022 running mate, Daniel Vilela, had previously served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás and the Chamber of Deputies, and had been the MDB candidate for governor against Caiado in 2018.

Succession of Ronaldo Caiado

Caiado began developing a presidential candidacy during his second term and subsequently left Brazil Union for the Social Democratic Party (PSD). In order to comply with electoral resignation requirements, he resigned as governor on 31 March 2026 to run in the 2026 Brazilian presidential election. Vice governor Daniel Vilela consequently assumed the governorship.

Vilela's succession enabled him to seek election to a full term in 2026. The governing coalition subsequently united a broad group of parties around his candidacy, including the MDB, PSD, Progressive Union, Republicans and other parties.

Gubernatorial candidates

Governor
Candidate		Party Federation	Relevant offices	Candidate
13		Luis Cesar Bueno Luis Cesar Bueno e Freitas	PT FE Brasil	Member of the City Council of Goiânia (1997–2003); Member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (2003–2015).
15		Daniel Vilela Daniel Elias Carvalho Vilela	MDB	Member of the City Council of Goiânia (2009–2011); Member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (2011–2015); Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Goiás (2015–2019); Vice Governor of Goiás (2023–2026); Governor of Goiás (2026).
22		Wilder Morais Wilder Pedro de Morais	PL	Senator for Goiás (2012–2019; 2023–present); State Secretary of Industry, Commerce and Services of Goiás (2019–2020).
29		Danilo Pinheiro Danilo Pinheiro Evangelista da Silva	PCO
45		Marconi Perillo Marconi Ferreira Perillo Júnior	PSDB Fed. PSDB Cidadania	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (1991–1995); Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Goiás (1995–1998); Governor of Goiás (1999–2006, 2011–2018); Senator for Goiás (2007–2010).
80		Luciana Amorim Luciana de Deus Amorim	UP

Declined or withdrew

Withdrawn candidates

• Telêmaco Brandão (NOVO) – Member of the City Council of Goiânia (2025–2026). Withdrew his gubernatorial pre-candidacy on 30 July 2026 after being chosen as the first substitute senator on Oséias Varão's ticket.
• Cíntia Dias (PSOL) – President of PSOL in Goiás; candidate for Governor of Goiás in 2022. Withdrew her gubernatorial pre-candidacy on 2 August after the PSOL REDE Federation decided to endorse Luis Cesar Bueno, and subsequently became a candidate for the Federal Senate.

Senatorial candidates

The 2026 Goiás senatorial election will be held in a single round on 4 October 2026 to renew two-thirds of the state's representation in the Federal Senate of Brazil. The seats held by Senators Vanderlan Cardoso of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Jorge Kajuru of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) are up for election.

Cardoso was elected in 2018 as a member of Progressistas and is seeking reelection to a second term. Kajuru, who was elected in 2018 as a member of the Republican Party of the Social Order, announced on 27 January 2026 that he would not seek reelection or another elective office.

Senator
Candidate		Party Federation	Cargos relevantes
151		Dr. Zacharias Calil Zacharias Calil Hamu	MDB	Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Goiás (2019–2026).
222		Gustavo Gayer Gustavo Gayer Machado de Araújo	PL	Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Goiás (2023–2026).
227		Oséias Varão Oséias Mendes Pereira Varão	PL	Member of the City Council of Goiânia (2021–2026).
234		Iure Castro Iure de Castro Silva	Cidadania Fed. PSDB Cidadania
251		Gustavo Mendanha Gustavo Mendanha Melo	PRD Fed. Renovação Solidária	City Council of Aparecida de Goiânia (2009–2017); Mayor of Aparecida de Goiânia (2017–2022).
400		Isaura Lemos Maria Isaura Lemos	PSB	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (1999–2019).
444		Gracinha Caiado Maria das Graças Landim de Carvalho Caiado	UNIÃO UPB	First Lady of Goiás (2019–2026).
456		Ernesto Roller Ernesto Guimarães Roller	PSDB Fed. PSDB Cidadania	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (2003–2011, 2015–2017); State Secretary of Public Security of Goiás (2007–2010); Mayor of Formosa (2017–2018); State Secretary of Government and Institutional Relations of Goiás (2019–2023).
500		Cíntia Dias Cíntia Aparecida Dias	PSOL Fed. PSOL REDE
555		Vanderlan Cardoso Vanderlan Vieira Cardoso	PSD	Mayor of Senador Canedo (2005–2010); Senator for Goiás (2019–present).
800		Guilherme Darques Guilherme Darques Alves de Paula	UP

Declined or withdrew

Withdrawn candidates

• Alexandre Baldy (PP) – Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Goiás (2015–2019); Minister of Cities of Brazil (2017–2019). Withdrew his prospective Senate candidacy on 27 June 2026 after being selected as the first substitute senator on Gracinha Caiado's ticket;
• Delegado Humberto Teófilo (NOVO) – Member of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (2019–present). Withdrew his prospective Senate candidacy on 9 July 2026 and opted to run for the Chamber of Deputies;
• Jorge Kajuru (PSB) – Senator for Goiás (2019–2027). Announced on 27 January 2026 that he would not seek reelection or another elective office.

Party conventions

State party conventions are held to confirm candidacies and party endorsements. Political parties were permitted to hold their conventions between 20 July and 5 August 2026.

Debates and interviews

Televised debates and interviews are scheduled to take place during the first round. The first gubernatorial debate was held on 9 August 2026 by TV Sucesso Band and the Centro Universitário FacUnicamps in Goiânia.

Gubernatorial candidates

Debates

References