In Mexican Election, Governing Party Is Poised for a Narrow Win
In a poll published last week in the Reforma newspaper, about 75 percent of respondents said it was time for another party to run the state,
and nearly half said they would "never" vote for Mr. del Mazo, a former congressman and mayor.
was considered critical to the party’s chances of retaining control of the presidency
and holding off the rise of Morena and Mr. López Obrador, a former mayor of Mexico City and a two-time presidential candidate, who is considered a top contender in the presidential election next year.
By KIRK SEMPLE and MARINA FRANCOJUNE 4, 2017
TOLUCA, Mexico — The candidate from Mexico’s governing party appeared to be heading toward an extremely narrow victory in the fiercely fought
election for governor of the country’s most populous state, electoral officials said late Sunday, citing early official returns.
Even Mr. del Mazo, in one of his final campaign rallies last week, acknowledged
that his party was "facing a challenge like never before." "The future of the P.R.I., the future of this country, depends on our victory," he said.
The last polls before Election Day showed Mr. del Mazo
and Ms. Gómez locked in a statistical dead heat, an extraordinary predicament for the P.R.I., which has held the governor’s office uninterrupted for nearly 90 years, often winning elections by wide margins.
has all the power and the money and is putting all
that money in the campaign." Mr. del Mazo also stood to benefit from the fractured nature of the opposition, which counted, in addition to Ms. Gómez, several other challengers including Josefina Vázquez Mota, of the conservative National Action Party, and Juan Zepeda, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party.
