Brazil’s LGBT Candidates From the Centre and Right Split Ahead of Runoff

Brazilian LGBT candidates from centrist and right-wing parties differ over whom to back in the presidential runoff; some remain undecided. Folha de S.Paulo published their interviews on October 22, 2026. As the Brazilian Senate reported, incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro will contest the presidency on October 25.

João Pedro Sastre of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), who campaigned in São Paulo as a “right-wing gay”, backed Lula. Estado de Minas reported that endorsement as early as October 6. In the new interview, he retained his right-wing identity, explaining his choice through disappointment with the support his campaign received from Bolsonaro’s camp.

Entrepreneur Gabriel Carvalho of Missão in Ceará has not chosen a side. He criticises portraying LGBT people as victims and links fewer difficulties in his own life to improved financial circumstances. Lucas Pellegatta of the Liberal Party (PL) in Bahia supports Flávio Bolsonaro and opposes reliance on welfare benefits.

Sophia Barclay, a trans PL candidate in São Paulo, also supports Bolsonaro. Leonora Rosa of Progressistas (PP) in Minas Gerais remains undecided and questions the Lula government’s practical achievements for trans people. Centrist William Callegaro of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in São Paulo has not chosen either: he sees defending LGBT rights and reforming the Supreme Federal Court as compatible.

According to Folha’s analysis, none of the 26 identified LGBT candidates for the federal Chamber of Deputies from parties the newspaper classified as centrist or right-wing won a seat. It used VoteLGBT data. The Plena Cidadania Institute’s project gathers information through self-identification and voluntary participation; its list does not necessarily include every LGBT candidacy.

Uránia previously reported on LGBT candidates from different parties taking part in Brazil’s general election and the methodology behind the civil society initiative mapping them.