Luciano Zucco is projected winner of the election for governor of Rio Grande do Sul with 58.46% of valid votes

Federal deputy Luciano Zucco (PL) was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul this Sunday (4), projects Datafolha.

With 63% of the ballots counted, he had 58.46% of the valid votes. In second place was former state deputy Juliana Brizola (PDT), with 31.47%. Vice-governor Gabriel Souza (MDB), Eduardo Leite's (PSD) government candidate for succession, had 8.29%, and former mayor of Guaíba Marcelo Maranata (PSDB), 1.6%.

Follow the counting of the 1st round in Rio Grande do Sul

To project a candidate's victory, Datafolha follows the counting data released by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) and, through its own system, projects the result considering the grouping of voters by mesoregion and the nature of the municipality in each state. When there is a reasonable number of votes counted in these groupings, it is possible to estimate that a candidate can no longer be overtaken and, therefore, project victory.

The election consolidated Rio Grande do Sul's alignment with the conservative right after two administrations by Leite, self-identified as a centrist.

Born in Alegrete, on the western border of the state, Zucco is 52 years old and is a lieutenant colonel who graduated from the Agulhas Negras Military Academy and served in the GSI (Institutional Security Office) from 2010 to 2016 in the team responsible for presidential security during Dilma Rousseff's government.

Zucco was elected for the first time to public office in 2018, as a state deputy for the then PSL, after being invited by the then candidate and political godfather Jair Bolsonaro. In 2022, he was elected federal deputy by the Republicans with the highest vote in the state that year, before switching to the PL in 2023.

In the Chamber, he was leader of the opposition in 2025, leaving the post in December to dedicate himself to the pre-campaign. He was personally chosen by Bolsonaro as a pre-candidate for the government.

During his parliamentary term, he gained national prominence when he presided over the CPI of the MST (Landless Rural Workers Movement) in the Chamber, when left-wing leaders accused him of trying to criminalize the movement.

Despite his alignment with Bolsonarism, Zucco avoided nationalizing the government dispute in the first round, with few mentions of Flávio Bolsonaro and a focus on state issues in television advertisements.

Zucco also criticized Eduardo Leite's management during the floods that hit Rio Grande do Sul in May 2024. At the time, he stated that the governor had not given due importance to warnings about the tragedy and defended greater investment in prevention.

The elected vice-governor is state deputy Silvana Covatti (PP), former secretary of Eduardo Leite's government and member of the Covatti family, influential in Rio Grande do Sul politics. She is married to former deputy Vilson Covatti, and her son, federal deputy Covatti Filho, is president of the state PP. The coalition included Novo, Podemos and Republicans.

Candidates Priscila Voigt (UP), Rejane de Oliveira (PSTU) and Cesar Pontes (PCO) also competed in the election.