Overview

• Party interlocutors say Mateus Simões’s switch from Novo to PSD is a matter of time, though both sides maintain there is no official agreement yet.
• Reporting points to a late‑October filiation to launch Simões for governor in 2026, a step that would narrow space for a Rodrigo Pacheco bid.
• Pacheco has conveyed preference for a Supreme Court vacancy after Justice Luís Roberto Barroso signaled he may bring forward his retirement.
• Governor Romeu Zema is expected to leave office by April to pursue a presidential run, a move that would elevate Simões’s profile before the state race.
• PSD is building a right‑leaning palanque in Minas as it weighs backing Ratinho Jr. or joining a Tarcísio de Freitas alliance nationally, while PT figures look to Alexandre Kalil’s new PDT home as a potential 2026 option and PL–Republicanos test names like Cleitinho Azevedo or Nikolas Ferreira.