After having come first in the vote by party members, Matteo Renzi was elected by a landslide 68% in a three-way primary on 8 December.

The national convention, which took place on 24–25 November, declared the candidates who will run in an open primary on 8 December.

His strongest performances were in his homeregion Tuscany (78.4%) and neighbouring Marche (76.3%) and Umbria (74.5%), the weakest in Sardinia (56.0%).

Cuperlo performed strongest in the southern regions of Calabria (34.2%) and Basilicata (33.7%), and weakest in Marche (10.7%).

Civati had his strongest results among expatriates (22.3%), in Aosta Valley (20.7%), Trentino (20.5%) and Sardinia (19.6%), the weakest in the southern region of Basilicata (8.0%).