After the subsequent dissolution of the Regional Council, the vice-president Flavia Franconi, also a member of the Democratic Party, became the acting president, while Carlo Trerotola was chosen as the candidate.

It was the centre-right coalition's first regional win in Basilicata since direct elections have been held since 1995 and Bardi was the first right-wing president since the office was established in 1970.

In the 2018 Italian general election, both the centre-right coalition and the M5S substantially improved their performance; for the first time, the centre-right tied with the centre-left (including Free and Equal, which in 2018 was not a member of the coalition led by Democratic Party), and the Five Star Movement won about double the votes gained by the Democratic Party and Free and Equal combined in the Chamber of Deputies.

[9] On 20 February 2019, Marcello Pittella, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party and the Lucanian Radicals,[10][11] announced he would not run for a second term,[12][13][nb 3] and decided to support Carlo Trerotola, the new centre-left candidate.

[17] The presidential candidate of the centre-right coalition was Vito Bardi, an independent politician and former general of Guardia di Finanza who later joined Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

[20][21] The presidential candidate of Lega Sud Ausonia, a regional party that usually ran alone, Antonio Postorivo,[22] was excluded due to bureaucratic issues.