SANTIAGO — José Antonio Kast, leader of the Republican Party, has regained the lead in Chile’s presidential race according to the latest Plaza Pública Cadem survey released Sunday, June 8.
In the spontaneous voting preference poll, Kast received 17% support, edging ahead of Evelyn Matthei by one point. Matthei, the former Providencia mayor, had consistently led this measure since July 2023. The survey, conducted via telephone interviews with adults across all 16 regions of Chile, signals a shift in the dynamic political landscape ahead of the 2025 presidential election, reported Meganoticias.
Despite Kast’s surge, Matthei remains the clear favorite in the “presidential expectation” category, which asks respondents who they believe will ultimately win the presidency. Twenty-eight percent of respondents predicted Matthei as the next president, compared to 18% for Kast. Other notable figures in this projection include Carolina Tohá (8%), Johannes Kaiser (6%) and Gonzalo Winter (5%). A significant 27% of those surveyed either did not know or declined to answer, underscoring widespread uncertainty among voters.
In the broader spontaneous preference category, other candidates such as Jeannette Jara (8%), Carolina Tohá (7%), Johannes Kaiser (7%), Franco Parisi (5%) and Gonzalo Winter (5%) were mentioned, though all remain well behind the leading pair.
The survey was conducted between June 5 and 7 through telephone interviews with a total universe of 6,719 individuals, yielding 702 valid responses and a response rate of 10.4%.
