Brazil's 2026 presidential election is kicking off with polls showing Lula and Bolsonaro nearly tied.
Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former far-right populist President Jair Bolsonaro, is taking on incumbent left-wing President Lula da Silva. Polls show the first round of voting will likely lead to a runoff.
Brazil's highly anticipated 2026 presidential election is set to begin with polls indicating a neck-and-neck race between incumbent leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his conservative rival, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the country's current populist president Jair Bolsonaro. Both candidates are vying to continue the respective political trajectories of their fathers, who have left a lasting impact on Brazil's political landscape.
Lula, 80, is running on a platform advocating for welfare programs, state-led development, and income redistribution, while Flavio Bolsonaro emphasizes hardline security policies and tax cuts, all while referencing his father's controversial coup attempt. Despite their differences, both candidates have found support among segments of the electorate.
In a recent poll by Brazilian research firm Quaest, Lula leads with 46% of the vote, closely followed by Bolsonaro at 45%. A runoff election is expected to take place on October 25 if no candidate secures over 50% of the votes in the initial round.
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