Brazil Presidential Candidate Dies In Plane Crash

Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos died Wednesday when the small plane that was carrying him and several campaign officials plunged into a residential neighborhood in the port city of Santos, reports AP.

All seven people aboard the plane, including a campaign photographer and cameraman, a press adviser and two pilots, died in the crash, Santos City Hall press officer Patricia Fagueiro told The Associated Press.

In a solemn address, President Dilma Rousseff declared three days of official mourning in honor of Campos and said she would suspend her campaign during that time.

David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, said Campos' death was "bad news for Brazil and very bad news for Dilma."

Should Campos' running mate assume the candidacy, she would likely pull votes away from Rousseff, forcing the race into a second-round ballot between Rousseff and the other main candidate, Aecio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party. Silva's support of Neves in a runoff could threaten Rousseff's chances of re-election, Fleischer said.

Rousseff, the hand-picked successor of ex-President Silva, has seen her popularity flag in recent months amid popular dissatisfaction with slowing growth, high taxes and poor public services — although she has remained the strongest candidate.

A view of homes that were damaged by the crash of a small plane carrying Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos and several campaign officials, in the port city of Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. All seven people aboard the plane, including a campaign photographer and press advisor, as well as two pilots, died in the crash, City Hall press officer Patricia Fagueiro confirmed. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)

A survey by the Datafolha polling agency released Wednesday before the accident said 8 percent of those questioned said they intended to vote for Campos, compared with 36 percent backing Rousseff.