Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), 47, and Fernando Haddad (PT), 59, advanced to the runoff election for the Government of São Paulo. The result imposes an unprecedented defeat to PSDB, party of the current governor, Rodrigo Garcia, 48, who finished third and has jeopardized the future of the party.
Tarcísio finished ahead, with 42.32% of the votes, followed by Haddad, with 35.70%. Rodrigo ended up with 18.40%. "We expected a good result, obviously the result was wonderful", said Tarcísio on Sunday night (2). "This election shows the strength of Bolsonarism."
The bolsonarist and the PT candidate will compete for a government that, since 1994, has been in the hands of the 'toucans' ( nickname given to PSDB politicians and supporters) – with victories even in the first round, in 2006, 2010, and 2014. According to allies, Rodrigo should not declare formal support for any of the opponents in the runoff. When speaking after the vote tallying, both Tarcísio and Haddad stated that they will seek support from the PSDB boards.
Translated by Cassy Dias