The main presidential candidates, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL), have had little or no success in securing agreements with the major center parties, which makes the weight of state-level support a decisive factor for the 2026 elections, with the competition balanced between the two parties.
A map of party alliances made by GLOBO with data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reveals that PT managed to attract more candidates to its side compared to PL. The difference, however, is smaller than one might expect from a coalition that has three alliances on the left, against a rival that runs independently.
Altogether, Lula's expected army reaches 4,250 candidates, while Bolsonaro's reaches 3,957. The margin of difference is small, considering that PT has three alliances on the left and PL runs independently. Each party adopted different strategies for the campaign: Haddad bets on on-the-ground campaigning, while Tarcísio prioritizes social media and closed events.
