Ronaldo Caiado, a former governor of Goiás, is scheduled to have his presidential candidacy formally approved by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) at a convention on Sunday, July 26. The nomination places a veteran conservative politician into Brazil’s developing 2026 presidential race.
Based on single-source reporting from CNN Brasil, Caiado was born in Anápolis, Goiás, in 1949. He trained as a physician and specialized in orthopedics. He is married to Gracinha Caiado, a União Brasil pre-candidate for the Senate in Goiás, and they have four children.
From Congress to Goiás
Caiado began his political career with a presidential bid in 1989 under the former PSD. He finished 10th and supported Fernando Collor in the runoff. The campaign included public clashes with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, then a candidate for the Workers’ Party (PT).
He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies from Goiás in 1990 with more than 98,000 votes, the highest total in the state. After disagreements with the PSD, he joined the Liberal Front Party (PFL), later renamed the Democrats (DEM), and served several terms in the lower house. He returned to Congress in 2010 and was elected to the Senate in 2014.
In the Senate, Caiado led the DEM caucus and helped coordinate the impeachment proceedings against former President Dilma Rousseff of the PT. He became a leading figure in Brazil’s rural caucus, a congressional bloc associated with agricultural interests, and a frequent opponent of left-wing administrations.
Caiado won the Goiás governorship in 2018 in the first round with more than 1.7 million votes. He was re-elected in 2022 alongside Daniel Vilela of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), who had opposed him in the previous election.
A national campaign
Caiado initially launched his presidential pre-candidacy through União Brasil in early 2025. After the party considered a merger with Progressistas (PP), which opposed his candidacy, he left the party and returned to the PSD. The party also considered the governors of Paraná, Ratinho Júnior, and Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, before selecting Caiado, according to CNN Brasil.
Public security became the central theme of Caiado’s national positioning. He has criticized the federal government’s proposed public-security constitutional amendment and supported treating criminal factions as terrorist organizations. He has also engaged in discussions surrounding legislation targeting organized crime.
At the same time, Caiado has adopted a more institutional message, emphasizing state autonomy, respect for democratic institutions and political pacification. He criticized the January 8, 2023 attacks on Brazil’s government buildings and reaffirmed his support for the rule of law.
He has sought to attract conservative and Christian voters aligned with former President Jair Bolsonaro while presenting himself as a more stable alternative to Bolsonaro’s political movement. His recent criticism of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate for the Liberal Party (PL), suggests that the right-wing vote may become a contested field in 2026.
Electoral court dispute
In December 2024, a Goiás judge found Caiado ineligible for eight years for alleged abuse of political power during the 2024 municipal elections. The case involved campaign events held at the governor’s official residence in support of Goiânia mayor-elect Sandro Mabel.
The Goiás Regional Electoral Court overturned the ruling unanimously in April 2025. An appeal to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court was later abandoned by the defeated coalition, which cited the goal of uniting the political right.