2026 Paraíba general election
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The 2026 Paraíba general election will be held in the state of Paraíba, Brazil, on Sunday 4 October 2026. Voters will elect a governor, vice governor of the state and a two senators of the Republic with two alternates each, in addition to 12 federal deputies and 36 state deputies. The incumbent governor, João Azevêdo, of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) cannot run for a third term.
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Gubernatorial election | |||||||||||||
4 October 2026 (first round)
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Senatorial election | |||||||||||||
4 October 2026 (one-only round)
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Azevêdo was first elected governor in the 2018 election in the first round, being reelected in 2022 in the second round against Federal Deputy Pedro Cunha Lima. He was reelected in 2022 alongside Lucas Ribeiro of the Progressives (PP), who became his vice-governor. The two incumbent senators elected in the 2018 election are up for reelection. Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) served previously as Mayor of Campina Grande, running for governor in 2022. Vital do Rêgo was elected as a member of the PSB, but joined the MDB in 2021. Senator Daniella Ribeiro, a former state deputy and mother of the vice governor, was elected as a member of the PP, but joined the Social Democratic Party in 2022, before switching back in 2025.
Those elected will take office on 1 January (governor and their respective vices) or 1 February (senator and deputies) of 2027 for terms on office lasting for four years (except in the case of the senator, who will have a term on office for eight years).
Electoral calendar
Note: This section only presents the main dates of the 2026 electoral calendar, check the TSE official website (in Portuguese) and other official sources for detailed information.
| Electoral calendar | |
|---|---|
| 15 May | Start of crowdfunding of candidates |
| 20 July to 5 August | Party conventions for choosing candidates and coalitions |
| 16 August to 1 October | Period of exhibition of free electoral propaganda on radio, television and on the internet related to the first round |
| 4 October | First round of 2026 elections |
| 9 October to 23 October | Period of exhibition of free electoral propaganda on radio, television and on the internet related to a possible second round |
| 25 October | Possible second round of 2026 elections |
| until 19 December | Delivery of electoral diplomas for those who were elected in the 2026 elections by the Brazilian Election Justice |
Gubernatorial candidates
Declared candidates
| Governor | Previous office | Vice Governor | Previous office | Coalition | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party
Federation |
Candidate | Party
Federation |
Candidate | ||||||
| PP Fed. UPB |
Lucas Ribeiro | Governor of Paraíba (2026–present) |
(Fed. UPB (PP and UNIÃO), REP, PSB, and FE Brasil (PT, PV, and PCdoB)) | [1] | |||||
| MDB | Cícero Lucena | Mayor of João Pessoa (2021–2026) |
PSD | Diogo Cunha Lima | None | (MDB, PSD, AVANTE, and Fed. PSDB/CID (PSDB and CID)) | [2] | ||
| PL | Efraim Filho | Senator for Paraíba (2023–present) |
PL | Nayana Pontes | None | N/a | [3][4] | ||
| DC | Pedro Coutinho | None | DC | Lenilda Pereira | None | N/a | |||
Expressed interest
As of December 2026, the following individuals have expressed an interest in running in the last six months:
- Romero Rodrigues, agronomist, current Federal Deputy (since 2023), former Mayor of Campina Grande (2013–2020), former Federal Deputy (2011–2013), former State Deputy (2007–2011), and former City Councilor of Campina Grande (1993–2007).[5]
- Marcelo Queiroga, cardiologist, former Minister of Health (2021–2022) under Jair Bolsonaro, former President of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (2020–2021), and mayoral candidate for João Pessoa in the 2024 election.[6]
- Veneziano Vital do Rêgo, lawyer, incumbent Senator (since 2019), former Federal Deputy (2015–2019), former Mayor of Campina Grande (2005–2012), former City Councilor of Campina Grande (1997–2004), and gubernatorial candidate in the 2022 election.[7]
- Nilvan Ferreira, radio and TV host, former mayoral candidate for João Pessoa in the 2020 election, former gubernatorial candidate in the 2022 election, and former mayoral candidate for Santa Rita in the 2024 election.[8]
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Declined to be candidates or withdrew
- Pedro Cunha Lima, lawyer, former Federal Deputy (2015–2023) and gubernatorial candidate in the 2022 election.[9]
- Adriano Galdino, civil engineer and lawyer, current President of the Legislative Assembly of Paraíba (since 2019, previously 2015–2017), State Deputy (since 2011), former Mayor of Pocinhos (2001–2008, 1993–1996), and former City Councilor of Pocinhos (1989–1992).[10]
- Daniella Ribeiro, professor, current Senator (since 2019), current First Secretary of the Federal Senate (since 2025), former State Deputy (2011–2019), and former City Councilor of Campina Grande (2009–2011).[11]
Senatorial candidates
Declared candidates
| Senator | Previous office | Alternate | Previous office | Coalition | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party
Federation |
Candidate | Party
Federation |
Candidate | ||||||
| REP | Nabor Wanderley | Mayor of Patos (2005–2013, 2021–2026) |
(Fed. UPB (PP and UNIÃO), REP, PSB, and FE Brasil (PT, PV, and PCdoB)) | ||||||
| MDB | Veneziano Vital do Rêgo | Senator for Paraíba (2019–2026) |
(MDB, PSD, AVANTE, and Fed. PSDB/CID (PSDB and CID)) | ||||||
| PL | Marcelo Queiroga | Minister of Health of Brazil
(2021–2023) |
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| DC | Pedro Coutinho | ||||||||
| DC | Rinaldo Junior | ||||||||
| PSB | João Azevêdo | Governor of Paraíba (2019–2026) |
(Fed. UPB (PP and UNIÃO), REP, PSB, and FE Brasil (PT, PV, and PCdoB)) | ||||||
Possible candidates
Declined
Opinion polling
Governor
First round
The first round is scheduled to take place on 4 October 2026.
2026
| Pollster firm | Polling
period |
Ribeiro | Lucena | Efraim | P. Cunha Lima | Galdino | Others | Blank Null Undec. |
Margin of
error |
Sample
size |
Lead | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veritá | Apr | 40.2 | 27.3 | 28.9 | N/a | N/a | 3.6 | 31.4 | ±? pp | — | 11.3 | [12] | |
| April 2 | Governor João Azevêdo (PSB) resigns to run for the Federal Senate; Vice Governor Lucas Ribeiro (PP) assumes the governorship[13] | ||||||||||||
| Seta/Polêmica Paraíba | early Mar | 25.1 | 30.8 | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | ±? pp | — | 5.7 | [14] | |
| Opindata/Falcão | Feb | 25.3 | 39.4 | 20.5 | N/a | N/a | N/a | 14.9 | ±? pp | — | 14.1 | [15] | |
| Anova/PB Agora | 24–26 Jan | 18.3 | 33.5 | 14.1 | N/a | N/a | 1.4 | 32.7 | ±2.2 pp | 2,000 | 15.2 | [16] | |
| mid-January | Former Federal Deputy Pedro Cunha Lima (PSD) announces he will not contest the governorship | ||||||||||||
2025
| Pollster firm | Polling
period |
Ribeiro | Lucena | Efraim | P. Cunha Lima | Galdino | Others | Blank Null Undec. |
Margin of
error |
Sample
size |
Lead | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Time Big Data | 29 Nov – 1 Dec | 16 | 31 | 13 | 13 | N/a | N/a | 27 | ±3 pp | 1,200 | 15 | [17] |
| 20 | 35 | 18 | N/a | N/a | N/a | 27 | 15 | |||||
| Anova/PB Agora | 2–4 Oct | 12.8 | 29.8 | 11.5 | 13.6 | 5.6 | N/a | 26.7 | ±2.2 pp | 2,000 | 16.2 | [18] |
| Real Time Big Data | 23–25 Sep | 17 | 34 | 15 | N/a | N/a | N/a | 34 | ±3 pp | 1,200 | 17 | [19] |
| 13 | 29 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 16 | |||||
| DataRanking | Aug | 8.95 | 33.83 | 16.06 | 15.09 | 7.09 | N/a | 18.98 | ±? pp | — | 17.77 | [20] |
| Anova/PB Agora | Jul | 7.0 | 23.4 | 6.9 | 15.8 | 7.8 | 3.5 | 35.6 | ±? pp | — | 7.6 | [21] |
| Anova/PB Agora | 27–29 Mar | 5.0 | 21.1 | 7.5 | 14.1 | 5.9 | 10.8 | 35.6 | ±2.2 pp | 2,002 | 7.0 | [22] |