# 2010 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election

The 2010 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election was held on 26 March 2010. The leadership election was held after the defeat of the PSD in the 2009 general elections. The then PSD leader, Manuela Ferreira Leite, decided to not contest this leadership election and four candidates entered in the race: Pedro Passos Coelho, candidate also in 2008; Paulo Rangel; José Pedro Aguiar-Branco and Castanheira Barros. On election day, Passos Coelho won the leadership by a landslide, capturing more than 61% of the votes, while Rangel only polled 34%. The other two candidates had results below 4%.
Pedro Passos Coelho would lead the PSD to victory in the 2011 snap general elections and become Prime Minister.

## Candidates

| Name | Born | Experience | Announcement date |
| Pedro Passos Coelho | 24 August 1964 (age 45) Coimbra | Social Democratic Youth leader (1990–1995) Member of Parliament for Lisbon (1991–1999) | 21 January 2010 |
| Paulo Rangel | 18 February 1968 (age 42) Vila Nova de Gaia | Member of the European Parliament (2009–2024) Leader of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Caucus (2008–2009) Member of Parliament for Porto (2005–2009) | 10 February 2010 |
| José Pedro Aguiar-Branco | 18 July 1957 (age 52) Porto | Minister of Justice (2004–2005) Member of Parliament for Porto (2005–2015) | 12 February 2010 |
| Castanheira Barros | 1952 (age 52) Coimbra | Lawyer PSD member | 4 March 2010 |

## Opinion polls
### All voters

| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Passos Coelho | Paulo Rangel | Aguiar-Branco | Castanheira Barros | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Intercampus | 23–24 Mar 2010 | 605 | 36.9 | 25.1 | 9.8 | 1.0 | 27.3 | 11.8 |
| Marktest | 16–21 Mar 2010 | 808 | 34.7 | 22.9 | 6.3 | — | 36.1 | 11.8 |
| Euroexpansão | 16–21 Mar 2010 | 928 | 33.0 | 22.0 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 39.3 | 11.0 |
| CESOP–UCP | 6–9 Mar 2010 | 1,148 | 27 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 5 |
| Eurosondagem | 4–9 Mar 2010 | 1,019 | 47.1 | 22.1 | 15.9 | 1.9 | 13.0 | 25.0 |
| Aximage | 17–19 Feb 2010 | 600 | 41.9 | 37.1 | 12.2 | — | 8.8 | 4.8 |

### PSD voters/PSD members

| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Passos Coelho | Paulo Rangel | Aguiar-Branco | Castanheira Barros | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Intercampus (PSD voters) | 23–24 Mar 2010 | 180 | 43.3 | 36.7 | 9.2 | 1.4 | 8.9 | 6.6 |
| Marktest (PSD voters) | 16–21 Mar 2010 | 140 | 42.2 | 28.9 | 6.7 | — | 22.2 | 13.3 |
| Euroexpansão (PSD voters) | 16–21 Mar 2010 | 293 | 43.0 | 33.8 | 5.1 | 0.3 | 17.8 | 9.2 |
| Pitagórica (PSD members) | 15–21 Mar 2010 | 612 | 48.8 | 38.8 | 4.8 | 0.3 | 7.2 | 10.0 |
| Pitagórica (PSD members) | 10–14 Mar 2010 | 541 | 52.3 | 31.3 | 7.8 | 1.0 | 7.6 | 21.0 |
| CESOP–UCP (PSD voters) | 6–9 Mar 2010 | ? | 35 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 25 | 5 |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Ferreira Leite | Marques Mendes | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa | Paulo Rangel | Pedro Passos Coelho | Aguiar-Branco | Nuno Morais Sarmento | Rui Rio | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Intercampus | 23–27 Feb 2010 | 1,015 | 0.4 | — | 27.7 | 20.0 | 25.5 | 7.3 | — | 0.9 | 18.2 | 2.2 |
| Aximage | 17–19 Feb 2010 | 600 | — | — | 46.7 | 7.5 | 16.1 | 1.9 | — | 25.0 | 2.8 | 21.7 |
| Eurosondagem | 4–9 Feb 2010 | 1,025 | 3.2 | 6.7 | 30.9 | 4.7 | 24.4 | 15.8 | 2.0 | — | 12.3 | 6.5 |

## Results

Summary of the March 2010 PSD leadership election results :
| Candidate | Candidate | 26 March 2010 | 26 March 2010 |
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Pedro Passos Coelho | 31,671 | 61.20 |
| | Paulo Rangel | 17,821 | 34.44 |
| | José Pedro Aguiar-Branco | 1,769 | 3.42 |
| | Castanheira Barros | 138 | 0.27 |
| Total | Total | 51,399 | |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 51,399 | 99.33 |
| Invalid and blank ballots | Invalid and blank ballots | 349 | 0.67 |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 51,748 | 66.26 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 78,094 | |
| Sources: Official results ||||
Vote share
Pedro Passos Coelho
61.20%
Paulo Rangel
34.44%
Aguiar Branco
3.42%
Castanheira Barros
0.27%
Blank/Invalid
0.67% :