On January 12, 2020, the Democratic Party (PD) held its primaries in which Governor Michele Emiliano was the winner.

[3] Following the primaries' victory of Emiliano, considered by Italia Viva (IV) too close to the political positions of the Five Star Movement (M5S), Matteo Renzi announced that his party would run separately from the center-left coalition.

[6] After the pre-electoral agreements between the three parties of the center-right coalition, Brothers of Italy announced that the candidate in the region would be Raffaele Fitto, MEP and former governor of Apulia.

The final choice would be determined by the outcome of the regional elections in Emilia-Romagna and Calabria which could upset the balance between the center-right forces and therefore lead to a modification of pre-election agreements.

The candidates were Cristian Casili, Mario Conca, Antonella Laricchia, and Antonio Trevisi.