At least ten politicians have changed their electoral domicile in recent months to contest elections for the Chamber and Senate in other states, a move that has caused tensions both within the president’s base () and among the former president’s allies ().
The changes shuffled the regional political table, with internal disputes and resistance from local leaders to candidates considered outsiders, with no political history in the states.
Three candidates for the Senate who changed their address are family members or close allies of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who is working to have a majority in the House. Last week, federal deputy Hélio Lopes, a friend of the former president, transferred his title to Roraima.
The Roraima PL said it was surprised to hear the announcement of the deputy’s domicile transfer, which would have been done unilaterally.
“Roraima requires representation built with knowledge of its political, social and economic dynamics, with an effective link with its population, respecting local leaders and Roraima society”, informed the caption.
The state directory is commanded by Arthur Henrique, who resigned from Boa Vista City Hall this Thursday (2) to be a candidate for the Senate.
The former councilor (PL) and the former first lady also changed their domicile for 2026.
Carlos generated noise in the Bolsonarist base by moving to Santa Catarina. The arrival of the former president’s son in the race generated tensions in the base of governor Jorginho Mello (PL) and , who see the Rio politician as an outsider with no ties to the state.
Michelle’s change was made in consensus with the party and local political leaders. She was born in the Federal District, lives in the federal capital and has never contested elections.
In the base of President Lula (PT), the most symbolic change was that of the Minister of Planning, , who joined and changed her electoral domicile from Mato Grosso do Sul, where she was mayor, deputy, vice-governor and senator, to run for the Senate for .
The movement was encouraged by Lula, who seeks to strengthen his platform in the country’s largest electoral college. Tebet faced a difficult scenario in his state of origin, with a Bolsonarist tendency, but he gained a national dimension when he ran for President in 2022.
Another former presidential candidate who changed states is . A native of Santa Catarina with a political career in Rio de Janeiro, he moved to Amazonas, joined Mobilização Nacional, formerly the PMN, and claims to be a pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic.
“I chose Amazonas because the North is forgotten. It is one of the richest regions in the world and one of the poorest in Brazil. I intend to bring this discourse on nationalism into the campaign”, said the former deputy to Sheet.
If the presidential project is not endorsed by the party, he does not rule out running for government or the Senate for Amazonas.
Among those who will run for the Chamber, names such as (no party) (PT), (PSD) and () and Rosângela Moro (PL) have changed status.
Pernambuco native Antônio Rueda, national president of União Brasil, will. His sister, Mila de Rueda, announced that she was a candidate for alternate senator in Tocantins, on the ticket of deputy Carlos Gaguim (União Brasil).
President of between 2015 and 2016, Eduardo Cunha tries to return to Congress after being impeached and arrested. With a political career in Rio, he ran for office in 2022 for São Paulo, but received just over 5,000 votes.
Now, he plans to return to the Chamber for Minas Gerais, but faces resistance from the parties. This week, he had his membership to Podemos vetoed by the party’s leadership and defended in an article the possibility of separate candidacies.
Jean Wyllys, who antagonized Cunha when he was a federal deputy for Rio, will try to return to the Chamber for São Paulo. He resigned from office in 2019 and .
Tiririca changed his domicile to , his home state. The comedian has four terms in office for São Paulo and received more than 1.3 million votes in the 2010 elections.
Rosângela Moro, who in 2022 changed her address to São Paulo, made a contrary move and will run for re-election as deputy for Paraná.
“I’m from Curitiba and this change of domicile is natural. I’m very happy to be back”, said the deputy, who in 2024 was a candidate for vice-mayor of Curitiba, without success.
Changes of electoral domicile are evaluated by , which is responsible for approving or not the change upon proof of a minimum bond of three months with the municipality.
“It can be a residential, emotional, family, professional, community or other relationship that justifies the choice of the municipality. At this point, there is a certain flexibility in the legislation”, says electoral lawyer Luiz Gustavo de Andrade, professor and director of the Paranaense School of Law.
The change of address must be made up to 150 days before the election. Any transfer considered fraudulent may be challenged in the Electoral Court.
In 2022, one of the most emblematic cases was that of the current senator (PL-PR), who transferred his title to São Paulo to run for the Senate.
The change was contested by the PT, which argued that the former judge had no ties to the state. He claimed that he lived in a hotel and a flat in the capital of São Paulo, but the courts blocked the move.
There were also questions regarding the change of address of the current governor of São Paulo, (), born in Rio de Janeiro and working in Brasília. At the time, however, the Electoral Court saw no illegality.
