2018 PP leadership election


The 2018 PP leadership election—officially the 19th PP National Congress—was held on 20−21 July 2018, with a primary election being held on 5 July, after it was called by the party's National Board of Directors on 11 June as a consequence of Mariano Rajoy's resignation as People's Party leader on 5 June. Rajoy's decision to resign the party leadership came as a result of a motion of no confidence which had voted down Rajoy's government on 1 June. The leadership election is the first whereby PP members directly participate in choosing a leader for the party. On 26 June 2018, it was announced that only 66,706 PP members out of the 869,535 reported by the party had registered to vote in the election.
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, former Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, and Pablo Casado, the party's Vice Secretary-General of Communication since 2015, topped the poll in the primary election held on 5 July 2018, becoming eligible for the run-off to be held among party's delegates on 20−21 July. After preliminary data was published, Sáenz de Santamaría conceded the election and acknowledged Casado's victory.
Casado's victory was considered a party swing towards the right.

Election system

The election system consists on a two-round system. In the first round on 5 July 2018, all registered party members who have their payment fees up to date are allowed to vote. In the second round, to be held concurrently with the party congress on 20−21 July, 3,082 delegates will elect the new party leader from among the two candidates who have previously received the most votes. Concurrently with the first ballot, party members will also elect 2,612 out of the 3,082 delegates. No second ballot is required should a candidate obtains at least 50 percent of the vote, secures such a percentage in an absolute majority of the 60 constituencies and is at least 15 points ahead of the runner-up. Candidates required the signatures of at least 100 party members in order to run.

Timeline

The timeline of the leadership election is as follows:

Proclaimed

Announced

A further candidate, José Luis Bayo, announced his intention to run for the primary election, but was rejected by the PP Organizing Committee as a result of not meeting the endorsement requirements in time.

Declined

Pablo Casado

Elio Cabanes

María Dolores de Cospedal

José Ramón García-Hernández

José Manuel García-Margallo

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría

Opinion polls

Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the candidate's colour. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded. Polls show data gathered among PP voters/supporters as well as Spanish voters as a whole, but not among party members, who are the ones ultimately entitled to vote in the primary election.

PP voters

Spanish voters

Results

Overall

By region

By province