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2027 midterm elections in Mexico: Who are Morena’s top picks for governor?

MND Staff
By MND Staff
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Morena has designated 17
Morena has designated 17 "state coordinators of the transformation and national sovereignty," most of whom — if not all — will be formally declared candidates for governor in their respective states. (Camila Ayala Benabib/Cuartoscuro)

An ex-chief of the federal government’s Financial Intelligence Unit and a former state attorney general are among 17 men and women selected as the ruling Morena party’s presumptive candidates for gubernatorial elections next June.

Sixteen of the 17 presumptive candidates were selected via surveys conducted by Morena, the main party of the “fourth transformation” (4T) political movement led by President Claudia Sheinbaum. The presumptive candidate in San Luis Potosí was selected by consensus.

The 10 women and seven men selected by Morena were designated as “state coordinators of the transformation and national sovereignty.”

Seven of the coordinators were announced on Monday, while 10 others were previously unveiled.

It is almost certain that the 17 coordinators will subsequently be named as Morena’s gubernatorial candidates in the 17 states where gubernatorial elections will be held on June 6, 2027.

It is likely that the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Party (PVEM) will support most, if not all, of the candidates selected by Morena. Both the PT and the PVEM are allies of Morena.

Morena’s 17 presumptive gubernatorial candidates are listed below in alphabetical order by the states they are seeking to govern. Morena already governs 12 of the states where gubernatorial elections will be held next year. MND will cover prospective candidates from other parties in future articles.

Morena’s presumptive gubernatorial candidates 

  • AGUASCALIENTES: Nora Ruvalcaba Gámez, a federal senator (currently on leave) and ex-deputy education minister. Aguascalientes is currently governed by the National Action Party, or PAN. The current governor is María Teresa Jiménez Esquivel.
  • BAJA CALIFORNIA: Julieta Ramírez Padilla, a federal senator (currently on leave) and ex-deputy. Baja California is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, whose U.S. visa was revoked last year.
  • BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR: Manuel Alejandro Cota Cárdenas, a state deputy (currently on leave) who represents the PVEM in Baja California Sur. Cota is the son of former Baja California Sur Governor Leonel Cota Montaño. Baja California Sur is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío.
  • CAMPECHE: Pablo Gutiérrez Lazarus, former mayor of Carmen, the municipality in Campeche that includes Ciudad del Carmen. Campeche is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Layda Sansores.
  • CHIHUAHUA: Cruz Pérez Cuéllar, mayor of the border city of Ciudad Juárez between September 2021 and June 2026. Chihuahua is currently governed by the PAN. The current governor is María Eugenia (Maru) Campos Galván, who has faced criticism this year after CIA agents allegedly participated in a drug lab raid in Chihuahua without the knowledge or authorization of the federal government.
  • COLIMA: Rosa María Bayardo Cabrera, a former mayor of Manzanillo, has also served as economic development minister in Colima and as a federal deputy. Colima is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Indira Vizcaíno Silva, who was elected in 2021, ending more than 70 years of uninterrupted Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) power in Colima.
  • GUERRERO: Beatriz Mojica Morga, a federal senator (currently on leave) and former state deputy. Mojica contested the 2015 gubernatorial election in Guerrero as the candidate for the Democratic Revolution Party. Guerrero is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Evelyn Salgado Pineda, who was selected to represent Morena at the 2021 gubernatorial election in Guerrero after her father was barred from running.
  • MICHOACÁN: Carlos Torres Piña, attorney general of Michoacán from July 2025 to September 2026. Torres, who led the investigation into the 2025 assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, served as Michoacán government secretary between 2021 and 2025, and was twice a federal deputy. Michoacán is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla.
  • NAYARIT: Jasmine María Bugarín Rodríguez, a federal senator (currently on leave) who represents the PVEM. Bugarín was born in Los Angeles and is a dual Mexican-U.S. citizen. She has pledged to renounce her U.S. citizenship. Nayarit is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero.
  • NUEVO LEÓN: Clara Luz Flores Carrales, a former federal deputy and ex-head of the National Public Security System. Flores was Morena’s candidate at the 2021 gubernatorial election in Nuevo León, at which she attracted 14% of the vote to place fourth. Nuevo León is currently governed by the Citizens Movement (MC) party. The current governor is Samuel García, who opted against a presidential run in 2024 after briefly eyeing MC’s nomination.
Clara Luz Flores Carrales beat out Tatiana Clouthier for the coordinator position in Nuevo León.
Clara Luz Flores Carrales beat out Tatiana Clouthier for the coordinator position in Nuevo León. (Camila Ayala Benabib/Cuartoscuro)
  • QUERÉTARO: Santiago Nieto Castillo, a former Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) chief who has also served as head of the electoral crimes division of the Federal Attorney General’s Office, attorney general in the state of Hidalgo and general director of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property. Nieto resigned as UIF chief in 2021 in the wake of controversy surrounding his lavish wedding celebrations in Guatemala. Querétaro is currently governed by the PAN. The current governor is Mauricio Kuri.
  • QUINTANA ROO: Eugenio Segura Vázquez, a federal senator (currently on leave) and former finance minister in Quintana Roo. Quintana Roo is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is María Elena (Mara) Lezama.
  • SAN LUIS POTOSÍ: Eli César Cervantes, a former federal senator. San Luis Potosí is currently governed by the PVEM. The current governor is Ricardo Gallardo Cardona.
  • SINALOA: Imelda Castro Castro, a federal senator (currently on leave) and former state deputy. Sinaloa is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Graciela Domínguez Nava, sworn in on an interim basis in late August. Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, accused by U.S. prosecutors of drug trafficking in league with the Sinaloa Cartel, is on indefinite leave.
  • SONORA: Lorenia Iveth Valles Sampedro, a federal senator (currently on leave) and a former federal deputy. Sonora is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Alfonso Durazo, who served as federal security minister for two years in the government led by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
  • TLAXCALA: Ana Lilia Rivera Rivera, a federal senator (currently on leave) and a former state deputy. Rivera is known as “la senadora del maíz” (the corn senator) due to her activism to protect native corn from genetically modified crops. Tlaxcala is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is Lorena Cuéllar Cisneros.
  • ZACATECAS: Verónica Díaz Robles, a federal senator (currently on leave) and a former federal government delegate in Zacatecas. Zacatecas is currently governed by Morena. The current governor is David Monreal, brother of Ricardo Monreal, Morena’s leader in the lower house of federal Congress.

With reports from El Economista and Infobae

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