Renan Calheiros, Inácio Loiola and Paulão lost the 2026 elections and will be without a mandate in the next legislature in Alagoas.
Renan Calheiros came in 3rd place in the race for the Senate after 32 years of experience in the House. Arthur Lira and Marina JHC won both places.
Inácio Loiola did not renew his mandate in the Legislative Assembly. Paulão finished in 10th place and was left out of the Chamber of Deputies in 2026.
Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) — Photo: Andressa Anholete/Agência Senado
The 2026 election left three politicians with a long history in Alagoas without an elective mandate from the next legislature: senator Renan Calheiros (MDB), state deputy Inácio Loiola (MDB) and federal deputy Paulão (PT). The three competed in this year's election, but were unable to secure seats for future terms.
Together, the three have accumulated decades of experience in Alagoas politics. Renan Calheiros ends a streak of 32 consecutive years in the Senate; Inácio Loiola leaves the Legislative Assembly after four consecutive terms; and Paulão, whose term as federal deputy ended before the end of the legislature due to a decision by the Electoral Court, was unable to return to the Chamber through the polls.
Renan Calheiros: 32 years in the Senate
Renan Calheiros, 71 years old, leaves the Senate after four consecutive terms. He was first elected to the House in 1994, took office in 1995 and was re-elected in 2002, 2010 and 2018. With the result of 2026, he was unable to win a fifth consecutive term.
In this year's dispute, Renan received 731,045 votes, equivalent to 22.24% of valid votes, and finished in third place. The two seats in Alagoas went to Arthur Lira (PP), who received 948,703 votes (28.87%), and Marina JHC (PSDB), with 926,860 votes (28.20%).
Renan's career in Congress, however, began before arriving in the Senate. He was state deputy for Alagoas between 1979 and 1983 and federal deputy for two consecutive terms, from 1983 to 1991.
Throughout his career, he held prominent positions in Congress. He was president of the Senate on four occasions, in 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2015. He was also Minister of Justice in the Fernando Henrique Cardoso government. In 2021, he gained national recognition as rapporteur for Covid's CPI in the Senate.
Renan's departure from the Senate occurs in the same electoral cycle in which his son, Renan Filho (MDB), lost the dispute for the government of Alagoas to João Henrique Caldas, JHC (PSDB). Renan Filho, however, maintains his mandate as senator until 2031.
Inácio Loiola: four terms in the Assembly
Deputy Inácio Loiola (MDB) — Photo: Archive
Inácio Loiola's trajectory is also marked by his prolonged stay in elected positions. Born in Canindé de São Francisco (SE), the politician began his career in Piranhas, where he was a councilor between 1982 and 1988 and mayor for three terms: from 1989 to 1992, from 2001 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2008.
After leaving city hall, he arrived at the Legislative Assembly of Alagoas. He was elected state deputy for the first time in 2010 and held the seat in the 2011–2015, 2015–2019, 2019–2023 and 2023–2027 legislatures. The Assembly system records four consecutive terms.
In the 2026 elections, however, Loiola was unable to renew the seat. He received 29,118 votes, corresponding to 1.62% of the votes, and finished in 32nd place among the candidates for the Assembly.
The result ends, at least for now, a sequence of 16 years of consecutive presence of Inácio Loiola in the state Legislature.
Paulão: from the trade union movement to the Chamber of Deputies
Federal deputy Paulão (PT) — Photo: Reproduction/Social networks
The trajectory of Paulo Fernando dos Santos, known as Paulão, began outside of elected positions, in the trade union movement. He was vice-president of the Association of Industrial Technicians of Alagoas, president of the Union of Urban Workers of Maceió and president of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT).
At the beginning of his political career, he was a councilor for Maceió between 1997 and 1998 and a state deputy for three consecutive terms, from 1999 to 2002, from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2010.
In 2010, he ran for a federal deputy seat and was a substitute. In January 2013, he took office in the Chamber. He was then elected to the 2015–2019, 2019–2023 and 2023–2027 legislatures.
The last legislature, however, was marked by a legal dispute. In July 2026, the Chamber of Deputies declared Paulão's loss of mandate following a decision by the Superior Electoral Court that determined the retotaling of votes for the 2022 election in Alagoas.
Even out of office, Paulão returned to compete for a seat in the Chamber in this year's elections. He received 63,813 votes, equivalent to 3.55%, and finished in tenth place in the individual vote for federal deputy.
As the election for the Chamber is proportional, however, individual voting does not alone determine who occupies the seats. The Brazilian Federation of Hope, formed by PT, PCdoB and PV, did not win one of the nine seats allocated to Alagoas, and Paulão was left out of the next legislature.
