Óscar Puente has expressed his conviction this Friday that the PSOE will win the elections on November 29 and has called for an agreement between the forces to its left. "The PSOE will be the leading force on November 29," he assured on 'Hoy por Hoy', on Cadena SER, while expressing his intention to once again lead the socialist candidacy for Valladolid.
The Minister of Transport maintains that the published polls do not coincide with the measurements handled by his party. "We have our daily measurement tools," he stated, without identifying the studies or offering their results. His forecast is accompanied by a political condition, to recover demobilized progressive voters and ensure that left-wing candidacies allow for a majority.
Sobre las encuestas y las elecciones. pic.twitter.com/s8EhDBPb1t
— Óscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) October 9, 2026
A call for unity from the Broad Front and Podemos
Puente has asked the organizations preparing their candidacies to provide a recognizable option for those who want to vote to the left of the PSOE. "Please, come to an agreement," he demanded. He also called for putting egos aside and thinking about the future of the country in the face of what he considers a sufficiently serious risk to overcome differences.
The minister trusts that the 51 days remaining until the polls will allow the electorate to be mobilized. "It is no secret that the left-wing electorate has been deactivated for some time," he pointed out. Asked about a pact between the Broad Front and Podemos, he replied that "there are possibilities" and avoided commenting on who should lead it. "You always have to choose the best," he advised.
The published polls paint a different scenario from what Puente anticipates. The 40dB. survey released this Friday places the PP at 31.9% and the PSOE at 28.1%, with an absolute majority for the PP and the far-right Vox. Conducted on October 7 and 8, it also estimates that a Broad Front candidacy with Podemos would reach 9.5%, compared to the 7.6% they sum separately. The negotiation is still pending leadership, primaries, and the distribution of lists.
Puente links the election call with the need to gain parliamentary support for housing measures. "We do not have the tools to solve the problem and that is why the elections have been called," he defended. His call seeks to combine the mobilization of the socialist vote with a candidacy to its left capable of attracting those who prefer other progressive options.
He wants to run again for Valladolid
Puente later specified his intention to once again head the list for Congress, during his participation in the Ibero-American Conference of Transport and Infrastructure held in Valladolid. "I do not hide from you that I want to head the list for Valladolid and I hope that will be proposed in the groupings," he declared. Local assemblies will propose the names and the executive and the provincial committee will approve the candidacy on Wednesday, October 14.
His municipal career provides a relevant precedent for his message about majorities. Mayor between 2015 and 2023, Puente managed to make the PSOE the most voted force in the city in the 2023 municipal elections, with 36.69% and eleven councilors. Even so, the agreement between the PP, also with eleven councilors, and Vox, with three, gave the Mayor's office to Jesús Julio Carnero. The victory in votes was left without a sufficient majority to retain the local government.
That municipal support constitutes a reference of his implantation in Valladolid, although the provincial contest for Congress has another distribution. In the 2023 general elections, the PSOE obtained two of the five deputies from the province, the same as the PP, while Vox obtained the remaining one. Puente then headed the socialist list and now aspires to repeat as minister and provincial secretary of the party.
The return to the Mayor's office is out of his plans. Puente has stressed that the Valladolid PSOE has "very good candidates, starting with the municipal group itself", and trusts that the election will take place in an atmosphere of unity. The municipal primaries, initially scheduled for November, have been postponed to December due to the call for general elections.
