Lula’s lead over Bolsonaro narrows ahead of Brazil election, poll shows

SAO PAULO, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva continues to lead Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, although the right-wing challenger has narrowed the gap with the leftist incumbent ahead of October’s election, a Quaest poll showed on Friday.   

• In a simulated second-round runoff, Lula would receive 43% support compared with 40% for Bolsonaro.

• An August 5 Quaest poll had Lula leading Bolsonaro by 44% to 39%.

• The most recent runoff figures also represent a virtual tie, as the poll has a margin of error of two percentage points.

• In a first-round scenario, Lula would lead with 38% of the votes, followed by Bolsonaro (31%), Renan Santos (4%), Ronaldo Caiado (4%) and Romeu Zema (2%).

• Senator Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

• If no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes in the first round, the two frontrunners advance to a runoff.

• Quaest surveyed 2,004 people between August 10-13. The poll was commissioned by local media outlet Globo.

(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Mark Porter and Brendan O’Boyle)