Martina Jaureguy Updated August 18
After protracted negotiations, Argentina’s political forces have confirmed which candidates will compete in the 2025 legislative elections.
Peronism, the LLA-PRO alliance, and other parties had until midnight on Sunday to submit the names they’re fielding. Many candidates for key positions had already been confirmed a few days early, but the deadline has now passed and the lists are in.
Here’s who’s running, and how these elections work.
Argentines will go to the ballot boxes on October 26 in elections to renew half of the lower house and a third of senate seats. These are mid-term elections: President Javier Milei’s mandate lasts until 2027. However, the results could shift the balance of power in Congress, making it easier — or harder — for the government to pass laws.
Legislative elections are held every two years. The 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City are electing new deputies, and eight districts are also electing new senators.
Major parties and coalitions often run in most or all of the provinces, but smaller local parties may compete in just one province.
The main Peronist front, Fuerza Patria, and the LLA-PRO coalition, have candidates competing in most districts, including two key ones: Buenos Aires province — the most populous province — and Buenos Aires City.
Half of the seats in the chamber of deputies (127 of 257) will be renewed. Deputies are elected by province, with the number of seats assigned to each province depending on the size of its population. They serve four-year terms and can run for re-election.
Senators serve for six years, so a third of seats are up for election this time round. Each province has three senators, as does Buenos Aires City.
Parties have to submit lists for every province they’re running in. Larger parties usually submit as many names as there are seats on the ballot, while smaller ones tend to present just a few candidates.
Parties focus on their list’s top candidate, whose name and photo will appear on the ticket and campaign ads, making them the face of the electoral front. For Lower House tickets in large districts like Buenos Aires province, the first 10 candidates are considered to be the most important.
In the Senate, the party or coalition with the most votes in a province gets two seats, while the runner-up gets one.
The candidates for the 2025 elections
The full lists feature several hundred names, but here’s a roundup of the candidates to watch out for.
The factions within Peronism agreed on a unified list in Buenos Aires province after months of infighting. The list was expected to have representatives from each of the factions, which respond to BA province Governor Axel Kicillof, former Economy Minister Sergio Massa, and La Cámpora leader Máximo Kirchner. However, the final list seems to overwhelmingly favor Kirchnerism.
Juan Grabois, leader of left-wing Peronist party Patria Grande, landed a spot in the top three.
These are Fuerza Patria’s top 10 candidates for the Lower House in BA province:
1. Jorge Taiana
2. Jimena López
3. Juan Grabois
4. Vanesa Siley
5. Sergio Palazzo
6. Teresa García
7. Horacio Pietragalla
8. Agustina Propato
9. Hugo Moyano (Jr)
10. Fernanda Díaz
In Buenos Aires City, Itai Hagman will lead the deputies ticket, while Mariano Recalde and Ana Arias will be the candidates for senators. According to the Herald’s sister title, Ámbito, other candidates for the Lower House include former Labor Minister Kelly Olmos, former local lawmaker Santiago Roberto, and Kirchnerist youth leader Lucía Cámpora.
La Libertad Avanza and PRO’s mid-term candidates
As expected, LLA took over most of the candidate lists on the BA City and BA province tickets it shares with PRO, as part of their electoral coalition agreement.
Economist José Luis Espert had already been confirmed as the lead deputy candidate in the province, with the goal of renewing his mandate. The confirmed list also includes LLA head in the province, Sebastián Pareja, in fifth place.
This year, Buenos Aires City will vote for senators as well as deputies, while BA province will just vote for deputies.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich will lead the senate ticket in Buenos Aires City, while Defense Minister Luis Petri will head the deputies ticket in Mendoza.
The LLA-PRO senate ticket for BA City is as follows:
1. Patricia Bullrich
2. Agustín Monteverde
3. Pilar Ramirez
4. Carlos Torrendell
The top 10 candidates in the deputies ticket for BA City are:
1. Alejandro Eduardo Fargosi
2. Patricia Holzman
3. Nicolas Mario Emma
4. Sabrina Ajmechet
5. Fernando de Andreis
6. Antonela Giampieri
7. Andres Leone
8. Valeria Rodrigues Trimarchi
9. Fernando Pedrosa
10. María Fernanda Araujo
The top 10 candidates list for BA province deputies is as follows:
1. José Luis Espert
2. Karen Reichardt
3. Diego Santilli
4. Gladys Humenuk
5. Sebastián Pareja
6. Johanna Longo
7. Alejandro Carrancio
8. Miriam Niveyro
9. Alejandro Finocchiaro
10. Giselle Castelnuovo
Other candidates
Former Córdoba Governor and 2023 presidential candidate Juan Schiaretti will head a ticket for Provincias Unidas in Córdoba. This electoral front was created by a group of governors amid their conflict with the national government over President Javier Milei’s cuts to federal funding for the provinces. The coalition will also compete in Santa Fe, Jujuy and Santa Cruz.
The left-wing Frente de Izquierda (FIT) party will have tickets led by its main political figures: Myriam Bregman for deputy and Christian Castillo for senator in Buenos Aires City, while Nicolás del Caño and Romina Del Plá will run for seats in the Lower House as Buenos Aires province candidates.
Deputy Facundo Manes, member of the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) party, will run for senator as head of the ticket Para Adelante. Manes did not reach agreements with other sectors, such as the one led by senator Martín Lousteau, and will run on his own. Last year, he distanced himself from the UCR bloc in the Lower House after fellow lawmakers backed several of Milei’s proposals.
Cover photo: Jorge Taiana (left), Patricia Bullrich (center), and Itai Hagman (right).