The Senate race in Goiás has laid bare the divisions within the political base of presidential candidate Ronaldo Caiado (PSD). With four candidates linked to the Caiadista group competing for just two seats, the campaign has turned allies into adversaries and opened a contest for the space remaining behind the vacuum left by Gracinha Caiado's (União Brasil) poll-leading status, the wife of the former state governor.
The fragmentation has become more evident in recent weeks, with the public confrontation between Gracinha and Gustavo Mendanha (PRD), his rapprochement with Gustavo Gayer (PL), and the difficulty faced by figures like Vanderlan Cardoso (PSD) and Zacharias Calil (MDB) in establishing themselves in a race where the wife is Caiado's priority in the state.
Mendanha, Vanderlan, and Calil, although part of the PSD president's group, face difficulties in positioning themselves in a dispute where Gracinha Caiado receives priority attention from the group's leader.
