Jorginho dos Santos Mello (born 17 August 1967) is a Brazilian politician, member of the Liberal Party (PL). He is the incumbent Governor of Santa Catarina and had served as Senator from 2019 to 2022. He resigned to run for the state governorship, being replaced by his substitute Ivete da Silveira (MDB).[1] Mello is the Liberal Party state president.
Career
Mello had served as state representative in the Legislative Assembly 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Legislatures[2] He was later elected for the Chamber of Deputies for the 54th and 55th Legislatures, representing the state in the National Congress lower house.[3]
In the 2018 election, Mello was elected for the Federal Senate for Santa Catarina, gaining 1,179,757 votes (18.07% of the valid votes), and winning opponents such as then senator Paulo Bauer (PSDB) and former governor Raimundo Colombo (PSD).[7]
In 2019, president Jair Bolsonaro signed Complementary Law no. 167, which creates the Simple Credit Company, after ammendments suggested by Mello.[8]
In the 2022 election, Mello was elected Governor of Santa Catarina on the second round, gaining 2,983,949 votes (70.69% of the valid votes), being the highest percentage in state elections in that year.[9]