João Azevêdo and Veneziano Vital do Rêgo are elected to the Senate by Paraíba

Former governor João Azevêdo (PSB) and Veneziano lawyer Vital do Rêgo (MDB) were mathematically elected to the Senate by Paraíba, this Sunday (4). With 99.09% of the ballots counted, they obtained 32.53% and 22.71% of the votes, respectively. As a result, Nabor Wanderley (Republicans), father of federal deputy Hugo Motta, president of the Chamber of Deputies, was not elected, and came in third place, with 20.90% of the votes.

Azevêdo, first placed in the Senate, was in his second term when he resigned from his position, in April, to run for the Senate. Previously, he was state secretary of Infrastructure, Water Resources, Environment and Science and Technology in 2011, remaining in charge of the department until April 2018.

Veneziano Vital do Rêgo is a lawyer, son of former federal deputy Vital do Rêgo and former senator Nilda Gondim. Senator, he was seeking re-election. He is also a former mayor of Campina Grande and a former federal deputy.

Nabor Wanderley resigned in April from his fourth term as mayor of Patos, in the backlands of Paraíba, to run for the Senate. He was also a state deputy between 2015 and 2020.

Hugo Motta's father was the candidate for the Senate of Paraíba with the largest number of supporting mayors — around 180, out of 223.

The former mayor was in third place in the polls throughout the electoral period, having tied at the limit of the margin of error with Veneziano in the Quaest on September 22nd.

João, Nabor and Veneziano competed for the preference of voters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Nabor Wanderley participated in the PT convention in July, but was booed by the militants.

Lula did not formally support Motta's father, but he also did not disallow the family from using his name in the local campaign.

Last Monday (28), Veneziano released a video alongside Lula, in which the PT member chose him as his candidate for senator in Paraíba. "I know there are many candidates for senator, but I vote for Veneziano," he said.