PL Leads for 19 of 54 Brazil Senate Seats

Brazil’s Senate is moving to the right. At about 9:50 p.m. in Brasília (8:50 p.m. Eastern, 1:50 a.m. Monday in Lisbon), the electoral court’s count has the PL leading for 19 of the 54 seats at stake, nearly four times as many as the PT, which leads for 5. Those totals leave out three seats that are still open.

The Senate is the chamber that approves Supreme Court justices, central bank directors and ambassadors, and it can try the president. Two thirds of its 81 seats were on the ballot on Sunday. For anyone in the United States who follows Brazil’s trade, tariff or investment policy, the new Senate will set how much room the next government has.

The PL Leads, With the MDB Second

We took the two highest vote-getters in each of the 27 states, which is how the seats are filled. Excluding the three open seats, that gives 51 seats. The PL leads for 19. The MDB leads for 7 and the PT for 5. The PP, the PSB, Republicanos, the PSDB, Podemos, the PSD and União Brasil share most of the rest, with two or three each. Novo has two and the PDT and Rede one each.

Gazeta do Povo, a newspaper in Curitiba, reported on Sunday evening that the right would hold more than 45 of the 81 seats from 2027. That is the newspaper’s projection, not an official figure. The TSE does not count seats by party. The party totals above are our own tally of the leaders in its state counts.

Who Won, State by State

Ten states are fully counted, and the TSE has marked their winners as elected: Acre, Amapá, the Federal District, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Roraima, Rio Grande do Sul and Tocantins. Among them, Michelle Bolsonaro (PL), the former president’s wife, took 29.05% in the Federal District, with Bia Kicis (PL) second at 27.44%. In Rio Grande do Sul, Sanderson (PL) and Marcel van Hattem (Novo) finished within 0.03 points of each other, at 30.11% and 30.08%.

In the other 17 states the count stands between 98.20% and 99.99%. In Santa Catarina, Carol de Toni (PL) has 33.47% and Carlos Bolsonaro (PL), the former president’s son, 25.36%. In São Paulo, the biggest prize, Guilherme Derrite (PP) has 30.59% and André do Prado (PL) 29.28%, ahead of Simone Tebet (PSB) at 19.23% and Marina Silva (Rede) at 18.12%.

The Supreme Federal Court in Brasília. The Senate votes on its justices. (File photo)

Several well-known names are behind. Renan Calheiros (MDB) is third in Alagoas at 22.28%, behind Arthur Lira (PP) at 28.88% and Marina JHC (PSDB) at 28.17%. In Rio de Janeiro, Benedita da Silva (PT) is third at 20.22%, behind two PL candidates, Carlos Portinho and Carlos Jordy. In Paraná, Gleisi Hoffmann (PT) is fourth at 13.35%. In Bahia the PT holds both seats, with Rui Costa at 29.97% and Jaques Wagner at 27.54%.

Three Seats Still Open

In Pará, Helder (MDB) leads at 26.05%. The second seat is a close race between Chicão (União Brasil) at 22.39% and Delegado Éder Mauro (PL) at 22.32%, with 99.52% counted. The gap is 6,774 votes, and about 28,000 voters sit in uncounted sections.

In Rio Grande do Norte, Styvenson Valentim (Podemos) leads at 29.21%. Samanda de Lula (PT) is second at 17.67% and Zenaide Maia (PSD) third at 17.40%, a gap of 9,405 votes with 99.42% counted and about 15,000 voters in uncounted sections.

In Paraná, Filipe Barros (PL) leads at 27.25%. Deltan Dallagnol (Novo), a former anti-corruption prosecutor, is second at 25.14%, and the TSE count lists his votes as valid. Press reports say a TSE justice rejected his candidacy registration on Saturday 3 October and ordered his votes void, and that the court’s president then suspended that order on Sunday. We could not confirm the current legal status from the TSE itself, so we do not call him elected. If his votes were annulled, the second seat would go to another candidate.

Shares of the vote as published by the TSE at about 9:50 p.m. Brasília time on 4 October 2026.

Who Is Who

Liberal Party (PL): the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro and a leading force on the right.

Workers’ Party (PT): the party of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now on the defensive in the Senate.

Michelle Bolsonaro (PL): the former president’s wife, leading in the Federal District.

Carlos Bolsonaro (PL): the former president’s son, second in Santa Catarina.

Deltan Dallagnol (Novo): a former anti-corruption prosecutor on the right, whose candidacy is contested in court.

Renan Calheiros (MDB): a veteran senator from Alagoas, now trailing in his state.

Why It Matters for the US

The Senate confirms Supreme Court justices, so a right-leaning chamber can shape the court that rules on elections, free speech and business disputes. It also approves central bank directors and ambassadors. Treaties need the approval of Congress as a whole, the Senate included, so the chamber has a say in any lasting trade agreement with the United States. Investors in Brazilian assets, including New York-listed shares such as Petrobras and Vale, will read the new balance as a signal about fiscal and regulatory direction.

For the two-way relationship, a larger bloc around the Bolsonaro family changes who Washington talks to in Brasília. Our presidential count, governor results and election explainer give the wider picture.

What Happens Next

The Senate has no second round, so the leaders in each state take the seats once the TSE and the state electoral courts certify the results. New senators take office on 1 February 2027. The presidential runoff between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, as the count stands, is on Sunday 25 October 2026. The Senate result will be a fixed backdrop for either candidate.

What Is Not Known

The TSE had not declared final results in any state when these figures were taken. The second seats in Pará and Rio Grande do Norte, and the second seat in Paraná, could still change. The party totals count only the 51 other seats. We do not have an official party seat count for the whole 81-seat chamber, and the holdover senators elected in 2022 are not in these figures.

How many Senate seats were up for election in Brazil in 2026?

Two thirds of the 81-seat Senate, or 54 seats, with two seats in each of the 27 states. The two highest vote-getters in each state win, and there is no runoff.

Which party leads the Senate count?

The Liberal Party (PL) leads for 19 of the 54 seats in the TSE count at about 9:50 p.m. Brasília time on 4 October 2026, ahead of the MDB with 7 and the Workers’ Party with 5. Three open seats are not included.

Is Michelle Bolsonaro a senator-elect?

The TSE count has her first in the Federal District with 29.05% and marks her as elected, with 100% of sections counted. Bia Kicis (PL) is the second winner there.

Why is the Paraná seat disputed?

The TSE count lists Deltan Dallagnol’s votes as valid, but his candidacy registration is contested in court and press reports differ on its status. We do not call him elected until the court rules.

Frequently Asked Questions