Since being transferred to Papudinha, () he has been sought after by pre-candidates seeking the former president’s blessing to launch themselves in his electoral strongholds, unlocking regional agreements.
Survey carried out by Sheet shows that, since January 15, when he was transferred to the prison unit, Bolsonaro has received 27 requests for visits in addition to defense lawyers and his immediate family. Of the total, 17 are names that will contest the 2026 elections, 12 of which are listed for the state government or the Senate, positions treated with .
Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), who is seeking re-election to the legislative house, met with the former president this Wednesday (18).
“I want to listen to him. He’s important, he’s fundamental, he’s our greatest leader on the right. I’m going to strengthen my pre-candidacy [ao Senado] and, if he has other plans, understand what those plans are, what the strategy is and position myself after reflecting”, he told the reporter before the visit.
In Rio, in addition to Portinho, two of his supporters are also listed as candidates: , who is in his second term and can no longer be re-elected, and federal deputy Hélio Lopes, who visited Bolsonaro on the 7th.
Lopes is close to the Bolsonaro clan and has the name defended by the senator and pre-candidate for President, .
Contractor Renato Araújo, who supervised the renovation of the former president’s house in Angra dos Reis and who had already received support from Bolsonaro to run for the Chamber, also made a request for a visit, in addition to the licensed state deputy Anderson Moraes, who occupies a secretariat in the Cláudio Castro government, in Rio de Janeiro, but must be incompatible and also try to be elected federal deputy.
Scenarios from eight other states have been taken to the former president, according to the Sheet: Paraíba, Rondônia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul.
In 2026, the election will be for two of the three Senate seats. Aspiring to one of the vacancies in Rio Grande do Sul, federal deputy Ubiratan Sanderson is expected to discuss the situation with Bolsonaro on Saturday (21). In the state, there are more: deputy Marcel Van Hatten (Novo) and senator Luis Carlos Heinze (PP).
“In addition to giving him a hug and lending him all my support, the electoral political issue in Rio Grande do Sul will certainly be addressed. I am the candidate for the Senate nominated by him, in June last year, and the candidacy must be confirmed (or not) by him”, said Sanderson to Sheet.
Pre-candidate for the Government of Goiás, senator Wilder Morais went to Papudinha last Saturday (14). Even with the approval of the PL leadership for the election, he seeks nominal support from Bolsonaro, who has good relations with the current governor, Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), and with his political group in the state.
The former president is also expected to receive the federal deputy (PL-MG), who has been for Flávio Bolsonaro.
In March, it will be the turn of senator Wellington Fagundes (PL-MT) from Mato Grosso, since, until then, Bolsonaro and the national president of the PL, , were more inclined to support vice-governor Otaviano Pivetta (Republicans).
“It will be a moment of dialogue and alignment of the next steps for the future of Mato Grosso and Brazil, alongside our captain”, wrote Fagundes on Instagram.
Political godson of the former president, the governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), is one of the allies who since the transfer to Papudinha.
At the meeting, Tarcísio defended the launch of a centrist candidacy for the Senate, as one of the vacancies was agreed for the federal deputy and former state secretary of Public Security, Guilherme Derrite (PP).
According to allies, the governor argued that, although Derrite serves the Bolsonarist electorate, it is necessary to present a moderate name so as not to lose votes to the left, which has also been looking for candidates more to the center.
Derrite himself asked the former president for a visit. The request took place on the 13th, after the conversation between Bolsonaro and Tarcísio. The minister, rapporteur of the coup plot at the (Supreme Federal Court), granted a two-hour visit to the deputy, from 8 am to 10 am next Wednesday (25).
On the same day as Tarcísio’s visit, Bolsonaro also discussed the elections in Rondônia with cattle rancher Bruno Scheid, who is a pre-candidate for senator in the state.
Another scenario discussed by the former president, according to people close to him, was Paraíba. Leader of the opposition in the Chamber, deputy Cabo Gilberto Silva (PL) discussed with Bolsonaro on the 7th the possibility of running for the Senate for the state, still in agreement with allies.
“I listened to all of President Bolsonaro’s determinations for our behavior in the Federal Chamber, as well as help for the Brazilian people to get out of this sad situation,” he said in a video released on social media after the meeting.
Moraes left two visit requests unanswered: one from contractor Renato de Araújo Corrêa, who wants to run for federal or state deputy for the PL of Rio de Janeiro, and another from deputy Julia Zanatta (PL-SC), pre-candidate for re-election, who claimed an institutional inspection to check Papudinha’s conditions.
The minister has so far denied two requests: that of Valdemar Costa Neto, for also being investigated in the coup plot, and that of senator Magno Malta (PL-ES), for having tried to enter prison without authorization.
Valdemar, as national president of the PL, depends on third parties to discuss the party’s electoral situation with Bolsonaro. Magno Malta began to be evaluated by Flávio Bolsonaro as a possible candidate for the government of Espírito Santo.
