[12] After the referendum senior members of the PD such as Enrico Rossi, President of Tuscany region, and Roberto Speranza, former Democratic leader in the Chamber of Deputies and head of the Reformist Area faction, announced their intentions to run as party secretary.

[20] On the same day Rossi, Speranza and other members of the minority like Bersani, D'Alema and 40 parliamentarians declared that they will exit from the PD after Renzi's decisions and established Article One.

[23] On 23 February the Minister of Justice Andrea Orlando, supported by prominent left-wing Democrats like Cesare Damiano and Gianni Cuperlo, announced his candidacy as party leader.

[30][31] Renzi is supported by the majority of the party's factions like his own one, Renziani, the AreaDem of Dario Franceschini,[32] The Populars of Giuseppe Fioroni,[33] a majority of Left is Change, led by his deputy secretary candidate Maurizio Martina,[34][35] a minority of Remake Italy, of PD's president and acting secretary Matteo Orfini,[36] and Liberal PD of Enzo Bianco.

[37] Michele Emiliano is an outspoken former magistrate with strong support in the poor South, who was expected to join the dissidents in DP movement but decided instead to challenge Renzi from within the mainstream party.

[39] He came from the left-wing of the party and he is supported by several Democratic members from Southern Italy, especially Apulia (of which Emiliano is President), but also by former Lettiani, the political faction of the former Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who Renzi forced to resign.

[41] Orlando is often described as the candidate of the social democratic establishment of the party;[42] he is supported by a majority of Remake Italy, of which he is the leader, by a minority of Left is Change, whose main members are Cesare Damiano and Anna Finocchiaro,[36][43] by LeftDem of Gianni Cuperlo,[44] and by several former leading Veltroniani, Lettiani, Bindiani and Olivists.

[45] On 6 March, Matteo Renzi presented his electoral programme with the slogans "Forward, together" (Avanti, insieme) and "On the Move" (In Cammino),[51] in which he expressed his intention to renovate the party, Italy and Europe.

[53] During his speech he harshly condemned the Five Star Movement (M5S), which he accused of being a populist party controlled by a private company, and Lega Nord, which he claimed uses fear to gain votes.

[62] He added that he would create an electoral coalition inspired by The Olive Tree, the political alliance led by Romano Prodi, who won 1996 and 2006 general elections.