Pará Governor, Ex-Mayor Tied in Second-Round Election Poll

A new poll from Genial/Quaest indicates a tight race for the governorship of Pará, Brazil. Current Governor Hana Ghassan (MDB) and former Ananindeua Mayor Dr. Daniel Santos (Podemos) are neck-and-neck in a simulated second-round election, with Ghassan at 36% and Santos at 35% of voter intentions.

In a first-round scenario, Ghassan holds a slight edge with 24%, while Santos garners 20%. Other candidates, including Mário Couto (DC) with 11%, and Araceli Lemos (PSOL), Cleber Rabelo (PSTU), and Raquel Brício (UP) each with 2%, trail significantly. A substantial 26% of voters remain undecided or plan to cast blank or null votes.

The poll, which surveyed 900 voters from July 21-25, also revealed voter sentiment towards Ghassan's administration. Approximately 36% of respondents view her government positively, 31% consider it regular, and 14% rate it negatively. This marks a shift from an April poll where Santos led Ghassan in both first and second-round simulations.

Hana Ghassan, who assumed the governorship after Helder Barbalho left to run for the Senate, is campaigning for her first term as the lead candidate. Dr. Daniel Santos resigned as mayor of Ananindeua in April to pursue the governorship and has been actively campaigning across the state, positioning himself against what he calls the "oligarchy" of the Barbalho family. Santos had previously faced temporary suspension from his mayoral duties over allegations of bid rigging and corruption, though he was reinstated the following day.