# 2019 Cantabrian regional election

The 2019 Cantabrian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 10th Parliament of the autonomous community of Cantabria. All 35 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in eleven other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 2019 European Parliament election.
The election saw the Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) of incumbent president Miguel Ángel Revilla become the most voted political force in a regional election for the first time, with 37.6% of the share and 14 out of the 35 seats at stake. Combined with an increase in the support for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the governing PRC–PSOE coalition went from a minority government to a majority one, with Revilla being re-elected for a fourth term in office. The People's Party (PP), with 24.0% of the vote and 9 seats, obtained its worst result since the 1991 election, whereas Podemos—which had seen an internal crisis ravage its parliamentary group in the region—fell below the five percent threshold and lost all of its seats. Both liberal Citizens and far-right Vox saw an increase in support, with both parties gaining seats and, in the latter's case, entering the chamber for the first time.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Parliament of Cantabria was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Cantabria, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Cantabrian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Cantabria and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Cantabrians abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).
The 35 members of the Parliament of Cantabria were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally.

### Election date

The term of the Parliament of Cantabria expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Parliament were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 24 May 2015, setting the election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 26 May 2019.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Cantabria and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.
The election to the Parliament of Cantabria was officially triggered on 2 April 2019 after the publication of the election decree in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC), scheduling for the chamber to convene on 20 June.

## Parliamentary composition

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the Parliament at the time of dissolution.
Parliamentary composition in April 2019 :
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Legislators | Legislators |
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Seats | Total |
| | People's Parliamentary Group | | PP | 13 | 13 |
| | Regionalist Parliamentary Group | | PRC | 12 | 12 |
| | Socialist Parliamentary Group | | PSOE | 5 | 5 |
| | Mixed Parliamentary Group | | Cs | 1 | 4 |
| | Mixed Parliamentary Group | | OlaCantabria | 1 | 4 |
| | Mixed Parliamentary Group | | INDEP | 2 | 4 |
| | Non-Inscrits | | Podemos | 1 | 1 |

## Parties and candidates

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in Cantabria, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
| Candidacy | Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Candidate | Candidate | Ideology | Previous result | Previous result | Gov. | Ref. |
| Candidacy | Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Candidate | Candidate | Ideology | Votes (%) | Seats | Gov. | Ref. |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | María José Sáenz de Buruaga | Conservatism Christian democracy | 32.58% | 13 | N | [10] [11] |
| | PRC | List Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | | Miguel Ángel Revilla | Regionalism Centrism | 29.89% | 12 | Y | |
| | PSOE | List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | | Pablo Zuloaga | Social democracy | 14.04% | 5 | Y | |
| | Podemos | List We Can (Podemos) | | Mónica Rodero | Left-wing populism Direct democracy Democratic socialism | 8.89% | 3 | N | [14] [15] [16] |
| | Cs | List Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | | Félix Álvarez | Liberalism | 6.94% | 2 | N | [17] [18] |
| | Vox | List Vox (Vox) | | Cristóbal Palacio | Right-wing populism Ultranationalism National conservatism | 0.34% | 0 | N | |

## Opinion polls

The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 18 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Cantabria.

### Color key

Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | | PRC | | | | | | | Lead |
| 2019 regional election | 26 May 2019 | — | 65.7 | 24.0 9 | 37.6 14 | 17.6 7 | 3.1 0 | 7.9 3 | 1.9 0 | 5.1 2 | – | 13.6 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 22–23 May 2019 | ? | ? | 18.9 7 | 31.2 12 | 17.5 7 | 7.2 2 | 13.2 5 | 2.2 0 | 7.3 2 | – | 12.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 21–22 May 2019 | ? | ? | 19.1 7 | 31.3 12 | 17.7 7 | 6.9 2 | 13.0 5 | 2.2 0 | 7.2 2 | – | 12.2 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 20–21 May 2019 | ? | ? | 19.0 7 | 31.3 12 | 17.6 7 | 6.9 2 | 12.6 5 | 2.1 0 | 7.5 2 | – | 12.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 19–20 May 2019 | ? | ? | 18.9 7 | 31.2 12 | 17.5 7 | 7.0 2 | 12.8 5 | 1.9 0 | 7.3 2 | – | 12.3 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 19 May 2019 | ? | ? | 20.1 7 | ? 13 | 17.6 6 | ? 3 | ? 4 | ? 0 | ? 2 | – | ? |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 16–19 May 2019 | ? | ? | 18.5 7 | 31.0 12 | 17.6 6 | 7.0 2 | 12.9 5 | 2.0 0 | 7.4 3 | – | 12.5 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 13–16 May 2019 | ? | ? | 18.5 7 | 30.1 12 | 17.3 6 | 7.0 2 | 13.3 5 | 2.0 0 | 7.7 3 | – | 11.6 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 10–13 May 2019 | ? | ? | 17.8 7 | 29.4 11 | 16.5 6 | 7.4 3 | 14.1 5 | 2.4 0 | 8.7 3 | – | 11.6 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 7–10 May 2019 | ? | ? | 16.9 7 | 28.8 11 | 16.8 6 | 6.8 2 | 15.0 6 | 2.3 0 | 9.3 3 | – | 11.9 |
| Sigma Dos/El Diario Montañés | 6–8 May 2019 | 700 | ? | 22.0 8/9 | 33.4 12/13 | 18.0 7 | 6.8 2 | 8.6 3 | – | 6.3 2 | – | 11.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 4–7 May 2019 | ? | ? | 16.0 6 | 27.7 11 | 16.1 6 | 6.8 2 | 15.8 6 | 2.4 0 | 9.4 4 | – | 11.6 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 29 Apr–4 May 2019 | ? | ? | 16.3 6 | 28.1 12 | 15.3 6 | 7.0 2 | 15.5 6 | 2.1 0 | 9.0 3 | – | 11.8 |
| April 2019 general election | 28 Apr 2019 | — | 72.4 | 21.7 (8) | 14.6 (5) | 25.2 (9) | | 15.1 (5) | | 11.2 (4) | 10.2 (4) | 3.5 |
| CIS | 21 Mar–23 Apr 2019 | 390 | ? | 20.7 8/10 | 33.8 12/13 | 18.1 5/7 | 7.9 2/3 | 8.6 2/3 | 3.2 0 | 5.3 1/2 | – | 13.1 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 31 Mar–7 Apr 2019 | ? | ? | 19.0 8 | 25.0 10 | 18.3 7 | 6.0 2 | 11.4 4 | 2.2 0 | 11.3 4 | – | 6.0 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 24–31 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 18.1 7 | 25.9 10 | 17.9 7 | | 11.6 4 | | 11.2 4 | 7.9 3 | 7.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 17–24 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 18.3 7 | 25.8 10 | 18.4 7 | | 11.3 4 | | 11.0 4 | 7.6 3 | 7.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 10–17 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 18.1 7 | 25.5 10 | 17.4 6 | | 10.1 4 | | 13.1 5 | 7.5 3 | 7.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 3–10 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 17.7 7 | 25.7 10 | 17.1 6 | | 10.6 4 | | 13.0 5 | 7.6 3 | 8.0 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 22 Feb–3 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 17.6 7 | 25.7 10 | 17.0 6 | | 10.7 4 | | 13.0 5 | 7.7 3 | 8.1 |
| Sigma Dos/PP | 2 Dec 2018 | 1,200 | ? | 29.1 10/11 | 26.5 10 | 17.0 6/7 | | 14.1 5 | | – | 9.3 3 | 2.6 |
| SyM Consulting | 4–5 Jun 2018 | 781 | 65.0 | 20.9 8 | 35.2 14/15 | 22.2 8/9 | 4.2 0 | 10.8 4 | 1.8 0 | – | – | 13.0 |
| SyM Consulting | 2–4 Mar 2018 | 724 | 67.2 | 30.5 11/12 | 27.8 10/11 | 14.9 5 | 5.1 2 | 15.5 6 | 1.2 0 | – | – | 2.7 |
| 2016 general election | 26 Jun 2016 | — | 68.5 | 41.5 (15) | – | 23.5 (9) | | 14.4 (5) | | 0.2 (0) | 17.7 (6) | 18.0 |
| 2015 general election | 20 Dec 2015 | — | 71.0 | 36.9 (14) | – | 22.4 (8) | 17.9 (7) | 15.2 (6) | 4.4 (0) | 0.3 (0) | – | 14.5 |
| 2015 regional election | 24 May 2015 | — | 66.2 | 32.6 13 | 29.9 12 | 14.0 5 | 8.9 3 | 6.9 2 | 2.5 0 | 0.3 0 | – | 2.7 |

## Results

← Summary of the 26 May 2019 Parliament of Cantabria election results → :
| Parties and alliances | Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote | Seats | Seats |
| Parties and alliances | Parties and alliances | Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− |
| | Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 122,679 | 37.64 | +7.75 | 14 | +2 |
| | People's Party (PP) | 78,347 | 24.04 | –8.54 | 9 | –4 |
| | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 57,383 | 17.61 | +3.57 | 7 | +2 |
| | Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | 25,872 | 7.94 | +1.00 | 3 | +1 |
| | Vox (Vox) | 16,496 | 5.06 | +4.72 | 2 | +2 |
| | We Can (Podemos) | 10,224 | 3.14 | –5.75 | 0 | –3 |
| | United Left+Equo (Cantabrian Tide) (IU+Equo (Marea Cántabra))$^1$ | 6,204 | 1.90 | –1.13 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 1,854 | 0.57 | –0.03 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Cantabrists (Cantabristas) | 1,584 | 0.49 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Hi Cantabria (OlaCantabria) | 1,119 | 0.34 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) | 774 | 0.24 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | New People's Left (NIP) | 187 | 0.06 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 3,180 | 0.98 | –0.57 | | |
| Total | Total | 325,903 | | | 35 | ±0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 325,903 | 99.02 | +0.75 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 3,234 | 0.98 | –0.75 | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 329,137 | 65.71 | –0.52 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 171,788 | 34.29 | +0.52 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 500,925 | | | | |
| Sources |||||||
| Footnotes: $^1$ United Left+Equo (Cantabrian Tide) results are compared to the combined totals of United Left and Equo in the 2015 election. |||||||
Popular vote
PRC
37.64%
PP
24.04%
PSOE
17.61%
Cs
7.94%
Vox
5.06%
Podemos
3.14%
IU+Equo
1.90%
Others
1.69%
Blank ballots
0.98% :
Seats
PRC
40.00%
PP
25.71%
PSOE
20.00%
Cs
8.57%
Vox
5.71% :

## Aftermath

Investiture Miguel Ángel Revilla (PRC) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 27 June 2019 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 18 out of 35 Y |
| | Yes • PRC (14) • PSOE (7) | 21 / 35 |
| | No • PP (9) • Cs (3) | 12 / 35 |
| | Abstentions • Vox (2) | 2 / 35 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 35 |
| Sources |||