Madrid politicians gain weight in the electoral panorama of 29-N. Proof of this is that at least 30 municipal and regional positions appear among the candidates of the PP, PSOE, Vox and Frente Amplio for Congress and the Senate, according to the final lists published on Tuesday in the BOE. Among them are six mayors, eleven councilors (including municipal spokespersons and the vice mayor of the capital) and thirteen deputies of the Madrid Assembly. Added to all of them are two former officials of the Executive of Isabel Díaz Ayuso who have found accommodation in the national candidacies.
The female presence is especially significant among the mayors, since five of the six councilors who attend are women.
The PP has 17 politicians on the lists, including five mayors, seven councilors and three regional deputies. Two former officials of the regional Executive are added to them. Vox provides seven representatives, five of them deputies of the Madrid Assembly, while the PSOE has three positions in its candidacy for Congress and another regional parliamentarian on the joint list for the Senate. Frente Amplio and the Senate of Progress candidacy bring together four other representatives linked to Más Madrid, including three regional deputies.
The popular ones are the ones who have resorted the most to their municipal power to prepare the candidacy of Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Among the five mayors who are among her candidates for Congress are Lucia Fernandezfrom San Sebastián de los Reyes, which occupies number 14; Rocío García Alcántarafrom Alcobendas, on the 16th; and Paloma Tejerofrom Pozuelo de Alarcón, number 18. Further from the head of the list are Belen Rodriguezfrom Villa del Prado, in position 34, and Aránzazu Povedanofrom San Martín de Valdeiglesias, in 38. The first three councilors have in common having reached their mayorships in the 2023 municipal elections. Fernández put an end to eight years of socialist governments in San Sebastián de los Reyes, while García Alcántara recovered the Alcobendas City Council for the PP. For his part, Tejero took over from Susana Pérez Quislant in Pozuelo, one of the main popular strongholds in the region. The Popular Party has also focused on the municipalities where they exercise opposition. Janette Novo, spokesperson in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, is ranked 26th; Antonio José Mesa, councilor of Getafe, in 29; Patricia Maroto, spokesperson in Ciempozuelos, at 30; Roberto Marín, in Alcorcón, at 31; and Héctor Carracedo, in Parla, at number 33. They are joined by David Rodríguez, councilor of San Fernando de Henares, at number 37. These are representatives of municipalities where the PP aspires to expand its representation in the next municipal and regional elections in May 2027.
The candidacy also incorporates former officials from the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The most significant case is Carlos Novillo, Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Interior until the end of October, ranked seventh. His incorporation into the national candidacy caused a remodeling of the regional Executive. José Antonio Sánchez Serrano, until then Vice-Minister of the Presidency and Local Administration, also left the Madrid Government, running in 19th place and also appearing as a deputy in the Madrid Assembly.
They are joined by Paloma Martín, former Minister of the Environment, Housing and Agriculture, at number ten and also a regional representative, and José Enrique Núñez, former Deputy Minister of Justice, at number 13. The list also includes Marta Marbán, deputy of the Madrid Assembly, at number 32. In the Senate, the popular have placed, alongside Pedro Rollán, president of the Upper House, Inmaculada Sanz, vice-mayor. from Madrid and right hand man of José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
The PSOE has also reserved space for representatives of Madrid’s municipal and regional politics, although with a smaller presence than that of the PP. Among them, Ángel Viveros, mayor of Coslada, stands out, who occupies 15th place in the congressional candidacy. Jorge Donaire, socialist councilor in the Madrid City Council, appears at number 17, while Lorena Morales, deputy of the regional Assembly, occupies tenth place.
For the Senate, the PSOE has opted for a different formula. He is running alongside Frente Amplio and other leftist forces under the name Senate of Progress, with Antonio Hernando, María Acín and José Luis García Sánchez as candidates. The latter has also served as a socialist deputy in the Madrid Assembly, while Acín is a parliamentarian for Más Madrid. The joint candidacy thus incorporates representatives of both parties with experience in the regional Chamber.
The Frente Amplio candidacy reflects a commitment to candidates with a leading role in the regional and municipal opposition. Its head of the list, Emilio Delgado, is a deputy and deputy spokesperson for Más Madrid in the regional Assembly. He gained prominence in the debate on housing and acquired national projection after participating together with the ERC spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián, in an initiative that promoted the debate on the unity of the parties located to the left of the PSOE, although the subsequent negotiations did not lead to a joint candidacy in Madrid.
Next to him appears Eduardo Fernández Rubiño, councilor for Más Madrid in the capital’s City Council, placed in fifth place. Rubiño has a career linked to social activism and the defense of LGTBI rights, while María Pastor, deputy and deputy speaker in the Assembly, occupies number six. The list also reserves its last position for Inés Sabanés, a leader with a long institutional career in Madrid. He was responsible for Environment and Mobility during Manuela Carmena’s mandate and participated in the implementation of Madrid Central, one of the most controversial measures of that municipal government.
Vox has also turned to representatives of Madrid institutions, with a particularly significant presence of regional deputies in its candidacies for Congress and the Senate. The list for the Lower House, headed by Santiago Abascal, includes Cristian Toro, councilor of the Madrid City Council, at number five. The Olympic canoeing champion in Rio 2016 has just joined the municipal corporation after taking possession of its minutes in October.
Also included is Arantzazu Cabello, municipal spokesperson for Vox in the Madrid City Council, ranked 18th. In the last place in the candidacy is Isabel Pérez Moñino, deputy and spokesperson for the party in the Chamber of Vallecas.
Adding to this representation is José Ignacio Arias Moreno, ranked 37th in the Congressional candidacy, who is also a deputy in the Madrid Assembly. But it is in the Senate where Vox has concentrated a good part of its regional representation. Its three candidates, Ana María Cuartero, Íñigo Henríquez de Luna and Ana María Velasco Vidal-Abarca, come from the Madrid Assembly. Among them, Henríquez de Luna stands out, deputy spokesperson for the parliamentary group and one of the politicians with the longest institutional experience of the party in the region. Before joining Vox, Henríquez de Luna spent a good part of his career in the PP, where he held responsibilities in the Madrid Assembly.