4 October 2026(first round) | |||
| Opinion polls | |||
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Senatorial election | |||
4 October 2026(one-only round) | |||
| Opinion polls | |||
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The 2026 Santa Catarina gubernatorial election will be held on 4 October 2026 in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Voters will elect a governor and vice governor, two senators, and the state's delegation to the Chamber of Deputies and the Legislative Assembly of Santa Catarina. If no candidate for governor receives a majority of valid votes in the first round, a runoff will be held on 25 October 2026. [1]
Incumbent governor Jorginho Mello of the Liberal Party (PL), elected in 2022, is eligible to run for reelection. [2]
Note: This section only presents selected dates of the 2026 electoral calendar; check the official TSE/TRE websites and other official sources for detailed information.
| Electoral calendar | ||
|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2026 | Start of regulated crowdfunding (financiamento coletivo) for pre-candidates | [3] |
| 6 May 2026 | Deadline for voters to register or transfer their voter registration | [4] |
| 20 July to 5 August 2026 | Party conventions for choosing candidates and coalitions | [5] |
| 16 August 2026 | Start of the official campaign period | [6] |
| 4 October 2026 | First round of 2026 elections | [7] |
| 25 October 2026 | Possible second round of 2026 elections | [8] |
Incumbent governor Jorginho Mello (PL) was elected in 2022 in the second round with 70.69% of valid votes, defeating Décio Lima (PT). [9] In October 2025, Mello stated he would seek reelection and indicated his running mate would come from the MDB. [10]
Senators in Brazil serve an 8-year term. In 2026, Santa Catarina will elect two senators, corresponding to the seats elected in 2018 (2019–2027). Incumbent senators Esperidião Amin (PP) and Ivete da Silveira (MDB) are eligible to run for reelection. [11] [12]
As of January 2026, the following individuals have been cited in the press as potential candidates:
A poll commissioned by Grupo ND/Neokemp and conducted on 1–2 December 2025 (1,008 interviews; margin of error 3.1 pp; confidence level 95%) tested the following first-round scenarios: [20]
| Candidate | Party | Scenario 1 | Scenario 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jorginho Mello | PL | 41.5% | 46.3% |
| João Rodrigues | PSD | 19.0% | 24.4% |
| Décio Lima | PT | 14.0% | — |
| Fabiano da Luz | PT | — | 9.7% |
| Adriano Silva | Novo | 8.2% | — |
| Afrânio Boppré | PSOL | 3.6% | 5.4% |
| Undecided | — | 10.0% | 8.9% |
| Blank/Null | — | 3.7% | 5.3% |