SAO PAULO (AP) — Voters in Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, on Sunday reelected mayor Ricardo Nunes following a tumultuous campaign that had pitted him against a leftist ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Nunes, who received lukewarm support from former President Jair Bolsonaro in the campaign, distanced himself from the far-right leader in his victory speech.
Nunes, who inherited the mayorship after Bruno Covas died of cancer in 2021, had almost 60% of the vote to secure another four years on the job, election officials said. He topped lawmaker Guilherme Boulos in the runoff which followed a first round of voting on Oct. 7.
The reelected mayor did not mention Bolsonaro as one of the people who helped him win and championed Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas, an ally of the far-right leader. The former president's conservative base was split in Sao Paulo by Nunes and Pablo Marçal, who narrowly lost a place in Sunday's runoff.
Nunes thanked “the biggest leader, without whom we could not have had this victory, and that's governor Tarcisio de Freitas.”
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said both Lula and Bolsonaro suffered defeats in the various mayoral elections held in Brazil.
“Neither have a positive tally in these elections. Bolsonaro was hidden in several places. Wherever he appeared too much, he lost,” Melo told The Associated Press.
“Lula lost the myth that he can transfer votes," he added. "It isn't that simple, these are different times. His administration might do relatively well in the economy, but it doesn't thrill anyone so far. The president had a big bet in Sao Paulo, in the city of Natal, and did not win.”
Earlier, Gov. de Freitas added another chapter to the metropolis' troubled election. He claimed during a press conference, without providing evidence, that police had detected an endorsement of Boulos by criminal organization PCC.
Boulos, who frequently accused Nunes of harboring members of the criminal group in his administration, said in a press conference the governor should be arrested for his comments during the vote.
The leftist candidate said he was not going to deliver “a loser's speech” after Nunes' victory.
“We lost an election, but in this campaign we recovered the dignity of Brazil's left,” Boulos said. The federal lawmaker will be under pressure to leave his Socialism and Liberty Party for Lula's Workers' Party after the election.
Most of the attention in this year's municipal elections in Brazil has been on Sao Paulo, where the first round of voting was marred by episodes of violence. Boulos, a longtime housing advocate for the poor, had his second consecutive defeat in the race.
Other Brazilian cities with more than 200,000 registered voters were also holding mayoral elections.
In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Mayor Eduardo Paes was reelected in the first round for his fourth, non-consecutive term. Paes, an enthusiastic fan of Carnival, had Lula’s support but focused his campaign on local issues against Bolsonaro’s candidate, Alexandre Ramagem.
Brazilians were also watching closely for results in Belo Horizonte, one of the country’s biggest cities, where Mayor Fuad Noman beat pro-Bolsonaro candidate Bruno Engler.
The vote in Fortaleza, another of the nation’s biggest cities, was a dead heat between the candidate from Lula's Workers' Party, Evandro Leitão, and pro-Bolsonaro challenger André Fernandes. Leitão won by less than 1%.
Follow AP’s Brazil coverage at https://www.apnews.com/hub/brazil
FILE - A view of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a signing ceremony of a compensation agreement for damages caused by the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam owned by the mining company Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP, at the Planalto Presidential Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New York Jets made some major changes to try to jumpstart a once-promising season that was heading downhill.
Robert Saleh was fired as coach after a 2-3 start, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich changed offensive play callers and the Jets acquired Davante Adams to reunite him with Aaron Rodgers.
New York is somehow in even worse shape now.
The Jets lost 25-22 on Sunday to a New England team that had lost six straight and was forced to bring in Jacoby Brissett, the quarterback during the Patriots’ 1-4 start. Brissett, playin after rookie Drake Maye was sidelined with a concussion, led New England to its first home win in more than a year.
And helped send New York to its fifth straight loss — and third in a row under Ulbrich. The Jets are now tied with the Patriots for last place in the AFC East.
“This is a moment of darkness, and we understand that the outside world is going to get really loud right now,” Ulbrich said.
Added Rodgers: “Yeah, I’ve been in the darkness. You’ve got to go in there, make peace with it.”
Greg Zuerlein missed two kicks — a field goal and an extra point — and the Jets burned through all three first-half timeouts in the first quarter, two of them 44 seconds apart on the same drive.
“On one of them, we were lagging out of the huddle, one I was trying to get the protection right," said Rodgers, who threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. "One I felt like we could have gotten off, but it was fine to take it there. Our operation was a little slow at times.”
New York used a timeout after an incomplete pass where Rodgers looked for Garrett Wilson. That timeout would have been handy during the Jets’ final drive that began from their own 30-yard line with 22 seconds remaining.
Another clock mishap occurred when New York drew a delay of game while lining up for a 2-point conversion after Braelon Allen rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 2:57 remaining. From the 7, Rodgers completed a pass to the 5 and the attempt failed.
“We’ve got to be better from an operations standpoint, just overall, and that’s every single player, every single coach. That’s Aaron. That’s all of us,” Ulbrich said.
Zuerlein missed an extra-point try in the first quarter, then was wide left on his 44-yard field goal attempt that would have enabled the Jets to pad their 16-14 lead in the fourth quarter. The veteran has missed six field goals this season.
Ulbrich insisted he didn't regret sticking with Zuerlein despite his recent misses.
“We’ve got to take a hard look at everything that we do, everything,” Ulbrich said. “It’s not just on Greg, it’s on all of us. We’ll do that this week.”
Haason Reddick's debut after a lengthy holdout didn’t provide an immediate lift to New York's defense.
The Jets allowed a Patriots offense that struggled mightily during Brissett’s five-game run as the starting quarterback to reach the end zone twice during the second half. On the winning drive, the Jets allowed the Patriots to convert a third-and-10 as cornerback Sauce Gardner was defending on the 34-yard pass play that moved the ball to the Jets 9-yard line.
“The NFL is hard. It’s hard to win. Harder when you make it difficult on yourself,” Rodgers said.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) runs into the end zone for a touchdown in front of New York Jets linebacker Chazz Surratt (55) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Dallas Stars interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, right, looks up toward the scoreboard in the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, left, and New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, right, greet in the middle of the field following an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, left, and New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, right, meet in the middle of the field following an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks off the field following an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
