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Brazil’s Runoff Was Rigged: Jim Pfaff on The Morning Answer | Oct 26, 2026

Published: October 26, 2026
Network: AM 870 / AM 590 The Answer
Analysis: Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff

On The Morning Answer, host Jennifer Horn opened a Monday hour with Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff on voter integrity in California, then turned to Brazil’s presidential runoff.

Pfaff said the polls closed at 5:00 PM local time and that the court ordered two more hours of voting. He told her, “I’m convinced that this was a rigged system.”

Topics Covered

• California, Then Brazil
• Polls at 5:00 PM, Then Two More Hours
• A Runoff Pfaff Calls Rigged
• No Wave, a Senate Majority, and Turnout
• The Host’s Close

California, Then Brazil

Horn welcomed Pfaff as president of the Conservative Caucus and pointed listeners to theconservativecaucus.org. She said they had been talking about California and a U.S. Attorney trying to make sure everyone who casts a vote there is a legal voter.

She then asked him about the election in Brazil. She said a lot of people had been watching, and she asked him to talk through what he called shenanigans. Pfaff said there was a lot there and he would try to keep it short.

Polls at 5:00 PM, Then Two More Hours

Pfaff said Brazil’s elections are run by a Supreme Electoral Court populated with members of the regular Supreme Court.

the court put out an order just before 5:00 PM that they were going to extend voting for 2 hours.

He said the order came so fast that many computer voting machines had already shut down. “once they shut down, they can’t be opened back up.” He said they were still trying to make sense of where that landed.

He tied the fight to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the current president. Pfaff said Lula is one of the founders of the São Paulo Forum, founded in 1990 with Lula and Fidel Castro to advance communism in Latin America after the fall of the Berlin Wall. “Lula is a communist. He’s an admitted communist.” He called Lula’s party a communist-style party.

A Runoff Pfaff Calls Rigged

This was the second round. Pfaff said the first round was at the beginning of the month, and Flávio Bolsonaro won that round in a plurality. Brazil holds a runoff if no one gets a majority. Pfaff said he thinks the first-round numbers were rigged to keep Flávio from a majority because he is so popular.

He said that yesterday Flávio was leading a lot of the day, and then, right at the end of voting, some of the machines were closed down.

I’m convinced that this was a rigged system.

Pfaff said the electoral court has 11 judge members, and they did not vote as a group to extend the election. One of those members, Lula’s former lawyer, called for the election to go on for 2 hours. “It is a very corrupt thing that happened yesterday.”

He said Bolsonaro-family friends who are conservative journalists are in exile in the United States so they would not be arrested, and that the government stole their money. He said Lula is already calling to shut down all social media, including X, in Brazil. Pfaff said he knows a lot of the members of Congress there and is close to the situation.

No Wave, a Senate Majority, and Turnout

Horn said the country was 8 days out from the midterms and asked how he was feeling. Pfaff said he does not think it will be a wave. He said he cannot tell her that Republicans will hold the majority in the House, but he does not think it will be wave-like.

He said he is a little mixed on the outcome, and pretty confident Republicans keep the Senate, maybe at the same level, and certainly with 50 or 51 members. If it is 50-50, he said, JD Vance is the tie vote, so there is still a majority. He said there is still a chance Republicans keep the House, that the polls have been inaccurate for a long period of time, and that he does not see a wave, though anything could happen.

“you either show up or you don’t.” He said that is what the Conservative Caucus is telling people. The group has made independent expenditures in targeted districts and is calling Republicans who usually skip voting and telling them to come out. He said that can matter in a couple of congressional districts in the L.A. area, where Republican members can be lost or kept.

The Host’s Close

Horn told listeners not to be discouraged by L.A. County, named Steve Hilton, and pointed to Prop 39 as a voter-ID measure on the California ballot. She said people have to turn out even if they have not voted in a long time, and she pitched a voter guide at AM870.info and 590.info.

She thanked Pfaff for the Brazil story. He told her it is always great to be with her.

Key Takeaways

• Two more hours: Pfaff said Brazil’s electoral court ordered voting extended for 2 hours just before a 5:00 PM close.
• Machines already off: He said many computer voting machines had shut down and could not be opened again.
• A rigged runoff: He said Flávio led the first round in a plurality and led much of election day, and he called the system rigged.
• One judge: He said the 11-member court did not vote as a group. Lula’s former lawyer extended the vote.
• Senate, not a wave: He does not see a midterm wave. He expects Republicans to keep the Senate with 50 or 51 members, with JD Vance breaking a 50-50 tie.
• Show up: He said a couple of L.A.-area House seats depend on Republicans who usually skip the election coming out to vote.

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About The Conservative Caucus:
The Conservative Caucus is a grassroots public policy action organization, formed in 1974. Headed by President Jim Pfaff, the Caucus is committed to advancing free enterprise, limited government, and traditional values.

Originally broadcast Oct 26, 2026 on The Morning Answer with Jennifer Horn.