Lula Seeks Crucial Votes Amid Supporters of Ex-Rival Tebet
- Tebet says she’s trying to convince her undecided supporters
- Centrist senator won 4.9 million votes, or 4% of first round
Presidential candidates Simone Tebet, left, and Soraya Thronicke before televised presidential on Sept. 29.
Photographer: Andre Borges/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Senator Simone Tebet, who came in third in Brazil’s presidential election, has taken upon herself an urgent mission: to convince about one-third of her 4.9 million supporters to shift their votes for leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The centrist senator said her endorsement of the former president, which she made public three days after the first round on Oct. 2, has already prevented many votes from migrating to Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing incumbent she considers as “a threat to democracy.”