Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT) votes in Salvador — Photo: Tarsila Alvarindo/TV Bahia
Re-elected for a second term as governor of Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT) said that the state will "keep moving forward". This was the first statement made by the PT member on social media after the election was decided.
"We've come this far because every Bahian man and woman believed in our project. Now, let's roll up our sleeves and head to the second round of elections, alongside President Lula, to guarantee the victory of democracy. Let's fight!", said Jerônimo on X.
The PT member won the election in the first round, repeating the dispute against the former mayor of Salvador ACM Neto (União Brasil), who came in second place. The other candidates were Ronaldo Mansur (PSOL), Aroldo Felix (UP), Maria Bona (PCO) and Ariel Capistrano (DC).
Like Jerônimo, the Senate candidates on the government ticket, former governors Rui Costa (PT) and Jaques Wagner (PT), also emerged victorious. At the national level, the group supports current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who will contest the second round against senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL).
How was the dispute
During the campaign, which began on August 16, when electoral propaganda became permitted, such as rallies, motorcades, distribution of graphic material and internet advertising, Jerônimo Rodrigues toured several regions of Bahia.
The candidate for re-election participated in walks, motorcades and rallies in municipalities in the interior and also in Salvador.
Throughout the campaign, Jerônimo also bet on the candidacy's association with President Lula. The expression "Lula's Team in Bahia" was used in events carried out by the candidate in different municipalities.
At the end of the campaign, Lula participated in a walk in Salvador alongside Jerônimo. The event took place between the neighborhoods of Ondina and Barra, on Tuesday (29), and brought together a crowd.
Public security was one of the main topics of questioning of Jerônimo’s management during the campaign.
The candidate stated that, if re-elected, he would work to remove cities in Bahia from the ranking of the most violent municipalities in the country. A survey by the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook cited during the campaign pointed to the presence of municipalities in Bahia among those with the highest rates of violence.
Jerônimo argued that the problem was already being faced by the state administration and highlighted investments in the area, such as new hiring of police officers, equipment, vehicles and police stations.
He also promised to strengthen the intelligence sector and increase coordination between the state government and city halls to combat violence.
Voting intention polls also showed a tight race between the two main candidates. A Quaest survey released on Saturday (3), one day before the election, showed Jerônimo Rodrigues with 52% of valid votes and ACM Neto with 48%, configuring a technical tie.
In the stimulated survey released on September 24, Neto had 42% and Jerônimo, 40%. In the August survey, ACM Neto appeared numerically ahead of Jerônimo, with 39% against 37%, but there was also a technical tie between the candidates.
Profile of Jerônimo Rodrigues
Born in Aiquara, in the southwest of Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues is 61 years old, married, has one son and lives in Salvador. He was elected governor of Bahia in 2022 and sought re-election in 2026.
An agricultural engineer from the Federal University of Bahia (Ufba) and licensed university professor, he began working in the state government in 2007, under the management of Jaques Wagner (PT), when he was invited to work as an advisor to the Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation of Bahia (Secti). In 2010, still in the Wagner government, he joined the Planning Secretariat (Seplan) team.
In 2011, he was invited to work in Brasília, where he was deputy executive secretary of the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA), in addition to having held other positions in the department during the Dilma Rousseff (PT) government.
In 2014, he coordinated the government program of Rui Costa (PT), who would be elected that year. With the election of his predecessor, he was the first head of the newly created Secretariat for Rural Development (SDR). In 2018, he returned to coordinate Rui Costa's government program and, the following year, he took over the Bahia State Department of Education (SEC), from where he left to run as a candidate for government.
Chosen by the PT to head the ticket, he finished the first round in the lead and faced ACM Neto in the second round. He was elected governor for the first time in the second round, with 52.54% of the valid votes.
Re-run of the 2022 dispute
Thus, the 2026 election repeated the main confrontation in the dispute for the government of Bahia four years earlier. Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT) and ACM Neto (União Brasil) faced each other again after reaching the second round in 2022. That year, Jerônimo was elected with 52.54% of the valid votes, against 47.46% for ACM Neto.
Jerônimo sought reelection again alongside Geraldo Júnior (MDB), while ACM Neto returned to compete for the position with Zé Cocá (PP), former mayor of Jequié. In addition to the two, four other candidacies were registered for the state government: Ariel Capistrano (DC), Aroldo Félix (UP), Maria Bona (PCO) and Ronaldo Mansur (PSOL).
Main campaign themes
Public security, health and infrastructure were among the themes present in the debates and campaign events. Jerônimo was the target of criticism from opponents due to the levels of violence in the state and defended the continuity of investments in hiring police officers, equipment, vehicles, police stations, facial recognition cameras and intelligence.
In health, the regulation queue was one of the main points of confrontation between Jerônimo and ACM Neto. The União Brasil candidate questioned the governor about public network service, while Jerônimo cited works and investments carried out during his first term.
The Salvador-Itaparica Bridge also appeared among the topics discussed during the campaign. Jerônimo was asked about the increase in the project's cost estimate, which went from around R$7 billion to R$11 billion, and presented justifications related to the complexity of the project and the interventions planned in addition to the construction of the bridge.
In the final stretch, the presence of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in campaign events reinforced the association between the candidacies of Lula and Jerônimo.
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