Six selections, with formal nominations still to come
The PAN is assigning its choices the title "state coordinators for the defense of the homeland, the family and freedom." Like the ruling Morena party, it is using coordinator posts to identify presumptive gubernatorial candidates ahead of formal nominations. The PAN's six selections are almost certain to become its official candidates later.
In Querétaro, Macías Olvera, a former federal deputy, is the party's choice to succeed PAN Governor Mauricio Kuri. Morena has selected Santiago Nieto Castillo as its coordinator in the state.
Chihuahua's PAN coordinator is Marco Antonio Bonilla Mendoza, a former mayor of the state capital. The state is governed by the PAN's Maru Campos, while Morena has chosen Cruz Pérez Cuéllar for its coordinator post.
For Baja California Sur, the PAN selected Francisco Pelayo Covarrubias, a federal deputy currently on leave who previously served as a state lawmaker and mayor of Comondú. Morena governs the state under Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío and has named Manuel Alejandro Cota Cárdenas as its coordinator.
In Michoacán, the PAN chose Morelia Mayor Alfonso Martínez Alcázar, who has served in both the state and federal legislatures. Morena's coordinator is Carlos Torres Piña; the current governor is Morena's Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla.
Tlaxcala state legislator Miriam Martínez Sánchez is the PAN's selection there. She is married to the party's state leader, Ángelo Gutiérrez Hernández. Morena, which governs Tlaxcala under Lorena Cuéllar Cisneros, has selected Ana Lilia Rivera Rivera as its coordinator.
Zacatecas city Mayor Miguel Ángel Varela Pinedo, a former federal deputy, completes the PAN's announced lineup. The state is governed by Morena's David Monreal, and Morena has named Verónica Díaz Robles as its coordinator.
Eleven states remain without PAN selections
Voters will choose governors in 17 of Mexico's 31 states on June 6, 2027. They will also elect 500 federal deputies and thousands of state and municipal officials.
The PAN, currently Mexico's main opposition party, governs four of the country's 32 federal entities. Three of those states have gubernatorial elections next year: Aguascalientes, Chihuahua and Querétaro.
The party has yet to announce coordinators in Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Colima, Guerrero, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa and Sonora.
State-level alliance talks with the PRI
Some races could feature a joint candidate from the PAN and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Neither party has formally named a gubernatorial candidate in Nuevo León, but their national leaders announced an agreement on October 1, 2026, to form a coalition there and support Monterrey's PRI mayor, Adrián de la Garza Santos, for governor.
PAN national president Jorge Romero Hicks and PRI national president Alejandro Moreno announced that intention at De la Garza's second annual report on his administration. If the plan goes ahead, De la Garza would face Morena coordinator Clara Luz Flores Carrales and Movimiento Ciudadano's Mariana Rodríguez.
The broader approach under discussion would leave alliance decisions to state committees. In an August 23 report, Excélsior said the PAN planned to seek National Council approval on September 6 for an agreement empowering those committees to authorize alliances with the PRI or other parties for governorships, mayoralties and local legislative seats. The report described a proposal, not a confirmed council decision.
Under that proposal, polling would guide where the PAN pursued alliances, and the leading aspirant would become its candidate regardless of party membership. That mechanism would allow it to join forces with the PRI.
On October 13, Moreno said local-level talks with the PAN were continuing for the June 2027 elections. Citing polling, he said opposition victories were viable in 11 states: Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, Zacatecas, Sonora, Sinaloa, Tlaxcala, Colima, Baja California Sur and Michoacán. His list includes all six states where the PAN has selected coordinators.
Moreno said the opposition was first working with party leaderships, including the PAN and local parties, to build coalitions. He ruled out a formal national-level alliance.
Morena completes its coordinator selections
Morena finished choosing coordinators for all 17 gubernatorial races on September 28, 2026. Those appointments are not formal candidacy registrations. The party founded by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador currently governs 23 of Mexico's 32 federal entities.
The party also prohibits relatives from directly succeeding governors from its movement. The Rio Times reported on October 6, citing Reforma, that the rule excluded Félix Salgado Macedonio in Guerrero and Saúl Monreal in Zacatecas from the 2026 contests for coordinator posts. Both had sought to succeed a relative as governor.
Election security strategy is being prepared
Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez discussed preparations for the vote after a three-hour, closed-door meeting with Senate leaders on October 5. She pledged that the state would provide "all the conditions" of security for a calm election and urged parties to choose candidates "with a clean record" and "a track record of ethics."
Rodríguez rejected an independent analysis reported by Reforma that estimated organized crime controls about 30 percent of the country. She said an election security strategy was being prepared and would be presented later.
