2026 Rio Grande do Norte general election

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Party
Federation

Candidate

Party
Federation

Candidate

PT
FE Brasil

Cadu Xavier

State Secretary of Finance
(2023–2026)

PSB

PSTU

Dário Barbosa

PSTU

PL

Álvaro Dias

Mayor of Natal
(2018–2025)

PL

AGIR

Rodrigo Bolsonaro

TBD

UNIÃO
Fed. UPB

Allyson Bezerra

Mayor of Mossoró
(2021–2026)

MDB

PSOL Fed. PSOL REDE

Robério Paulino

TBD

UP

Francisco Dias

UP

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.

Senator

Previous office

Alternate

Party
Federation

Candidate

Party

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PDT

Rafael Motta

Federal Deputy
(2015–2023)

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PDT

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PT
FE Brasil

Samanda Alves

rowspan="2"

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PCdoB

Oswaldo Negrão

rowspan="2" style=background-color:;|

PSTU

Luciana Lima

rowspan="2"

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PSTU

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PSTU

Rosália Fernandes

rowspan="2"

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PSTU

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PODE

Styvenson Valentim

Senator
(2019–present)

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PSDB

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PL

Coronel Hélio

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PL

Gabriela Fagundes

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UNIÃO

Tércio Tinoco

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PP

PSOL
Fed. PSOL REDE

Sandro Pimentel

State Deputy
(2019–present)

PSOL
Fed. PSOL REDE

Sônia Godeiro

rowspan="2"

PSOL

PSD

Zenaide Maia

Senator
(2019–present)

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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

25.6

±2.1 pp

2,000

21.8

Exatus

14–17 Apr

37.3

24.9

10.7

4.5

3.4

19.2

±2.51 pp

1,518

12.4

Veritá

29 Mar–4 Apr

29.6

27.5

26.6

0.9

15.4

21.8

±3 pp

1,220

2.1

Seta

31 Mar–2 Apr

39.4

23.7

10.3

26.6

±2.5 pp

1,500

15.7

Metadata/Grupo Dial

27–28 Mar

28.8

37.2

10.7

23.3

±3.1 pp

1,000

8.4

Data Ranking/Fonte83

24–26 Mar

39.2

20.6

9.1

31.1

±2.19 pp

1,500

18.6

Media Inteligência

23–26 Mar

27.2

30.8

10.8

2.1

29.1

±2.2 pp

2,000

3.6

Consult/TN

15–18 Mar

29.24

31.18

6.35

1.65

31.59

±2.37 pp

1,700

1.94

Seta

7–9 Mar

37.3

21.5

8.1

33.1

±2.5 pp

1,500

15.8

March

Álvaro Dias leaves Republicans for the Liberal Party, replacing Rogério Marinho as the PL's pre-candidate after Marinho declined to run.

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

6.41

34.36

±2.3 pp

1,700

1.71

Real Time Big Data

1–2 Dec

36

34

10

20

±3 pp

1,200

2

Consult/TN

23–27 Oct

30.88

28.47

5.76

34.89

±2.3 pp

1,700

2.41

Real Time Big Data

24–25 Sep

35

29

12

6

18

±3 pp

1,200

6

Paraná Pesquisas

6–10 Sep

30

28.2

16.4

8.6

16.8

±2.6 pp

1,505

1.8

Consult/TN

9–13 May

23.24

16.29

60.47

±2.3 pp

1,700

6.95

Paraná Pesquisas

18–21 Feb

22.2

14.1

9.2

17.5

22.5

3.8

10.7

±2.9 pp

1,220

0.3

Consult

9–13 Jan

7.0

10.5

19.5

14.5

18.88

1.75

0.5

27.4

±3.5 pp

800

0.6

Rio Grande do Norte Category:Rio Grande do Norte gubernatorial elections Category:October 2026 in Brazil

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