Quaest: Allyson Bezerra has 45%, and Cadu de Lula, 42%, in Rio Grande do Norte

Candidate Allyson Bezerra (União Brasil) has 45% of voting intentions compared to 42% for Cadu de Lula (PT) in the second round of the dispute for the Government of Rio Grande do Norte, according to a Quaest survey released this Tuesday (13). The scenario is a technical draw.

Blank votes, invalid votes and people who say they will not go to the polls total 7%, while undecided votes are 6%. The maximum margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

This is Quaest's first survey in the second round of elections in Rio Grande do Norte. 1,098 people were heard in home interviews between Friday (9) and this Monday (12).

The survey, contracted by TV Cabugi, was registered with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) with number RN-03210/2026. The confidence level is 95%

In the spontaneous survey, when the names of the candidates are not presented, Allyson Bezerra scores 38% of the respondents' preference, followed by Cadu de Lula, with 35%. Another 24% were unable to indicate a candidate, and 3% said they voted blank or invalid.

Candidates Allyson Bezerra and Cadu de Lula are competing in the second round after being practically tied in the first round of voting. The União Brasil candidate received 36.94% valid votes, while the PT candidate received 36.16%.

Allyson is the former mayor of Mossoró, the second largest city in the state and wears a leather hat as a trademark. In the campaign, he has sought to dissociate himself from both Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), presenting himself on the networks as an independent candidate.

He is being investigated in Operation Mederi, launched in January 2026 to investigate embezzlement of public resources and fraud in public health tenders in Rio Grande do Sul city halls, including Mossoró. He denies participation in a criminal scheme.

Cadu Xavier, who adopted the name Cadu de Lula at the ballot box, was Secretary of Finance in the government of Fátima Bezerra (PT), a position he left in March this year to contest the state election.

The PT member is trying to continue an eight-year period of PT governments in the state, which began in 2019 with Fátima Bezerra.

Rio Grande do Norte is the only one of the nine northeastern states with a second round in this election.