Overview
- The vote tally, which was finalized after Sunday, Oct. 4, produced 20 governors who won more than 50% of valid votes and therefore avoided runoffs.
- The winners include high-profile re-elections and newcomers such as Tarcísio de Freitas in São Paulo, Raquel Lyra in Pernambuco, Jerônimo Rodrigues in Bahia, Sergio Moro in Paraná, and Cleitinho in Minas Gerais.
- Seven contests—the Federal District and six states—will go to a second round on Oct. 25 to decide the remaining governors.
- Several first-round victors are serving federal senators whose election will vacate their Senate seats and transfer those seats to their first substitutes, with Luis Felipe Cunha and Alex Diniz cited as examples.
- The 20 first-round wins top the previous post-1990 high of 18 in 2010 and signal near-term shifts in state policy priorities and the Federal Senate's balance to watch as new mandates take effect in 2027.