Peter Magyar leads Orbán in the polls as Hungary holds the highest number of votes
JD Vance goes to Budapest
JD Vance is meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest ahead of a key election, attracting the attention of the US. The scenes discuss Orban’s re-election bid, as he faces an economic downturn and corruption allegations that could end his 16-year rule. Critics point to his controversial economic strategy and relationship with Vladimir Putin, including blocking European Union aid to Ukraine, making the race unpredictable.
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The US and Europe watched closely as Hungarians turned out in record numbers to vote on Sunday in a high-stakes election pitting Trump’s ally, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, against his former political partner, Péter Magyar.
Following the opinion polls, Orbán received a big boost earlier this week when Vice President JD Vance visited the country, making clear the administration’s position on the importance of having a representative of the US in the heart of Europe, since most of its continental allies have proven insufficient, especially with the lack of assistance in the war against Iran.
In his words, Vance made it clear why he was there. “The reason why we did this is because we thought that there was so much rubbish happening to Viktor in this election that we had to show that there are actually many people and many friends around the world who see that Viktor and his government are doing a good job, and they are important partners for peace,” he said at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a private university, in the capital of Hungary. “That’s why we’re here, but in the end the Hungarian people will be kings because it has to be.”
TRUMP CALLS AT VANCE-ORBAN HUNGARY EVENT: ‘MY KIND OF PEOPLE’
Vice President JD Vance laughs at President Donald Trump’s arrival as he delivers his remarks at a Friendship Day event with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, April 7, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
After Vance’s return to the US, President Donald Trump weighed in Friday’s Public Truth: “My administration is ready to use the full economic power of the United States to strengthen the Hungarian economy, as we have done to our great partners in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian people need it. We are happy to invest in that future prosperity!”
Loved by many elderly and rural Hungarians and reviled by opponents, Orbán has emerged as the country’s most effective leader since his transition to democracy at the end of the Cold War. Nevertheless, the election campaign is in full swing.
Orbán’s strained relationship with the European Union stems from his stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, his staunch support for his country’s Israel and his tough stance on immigration, which led to EU financial sanctions for his refusal to open the country’s borders to immigrants.
During Orbán’s 16-year government, Hungary’s economy grew faster than any other EU country. The country’s GDP per capita (the average person’s annual income) rose to about $17,000 last year, from about $12,000 in 2014, according to Trading Economics data. However, not everything is good. Inflation has recently risen to an annual rate of 4.9%, and business conditions have been deteriorating since Aug. 2022.
TRUMP SAYS HUNGARY’S STOP KEPT CRIME DOWN, SAYS EUROPE IS ‘FOCUSING’ ON IMMIGRANTS.
Péter Magyar, a former member of Orban’s ruling Fidesz party, speaks during a protest outside the Hungarian Interior Ministry building calling for stricter protection of children and the resignation of Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, April 26, 2024. Magyar is running in the April 2026 election. (Denes Erdos/AP)
Polls show Magyar’s Tisza party with 50% of the vote and Orbán’s Fidesz party behind with 39% as of April 9, according to Politico. Magyar now poses the biggest electoral threat to Orbán since 2010.
“The polls are going well for the opposition,” Daniel Wood, portfolio manager at William Blair Investment Management, told Fox News Digital. “If the opposition wins, there is a chance that the EU will open the frozen funds, about 7% of GDP.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, US, Monday, May 13, 2019. Trump is meeting with the Hungarian leader despite two objections from Congress, as the US seeks to withdraw the Central European nation and NATO member away from Russia and China. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)
Speaking to reporters outside a polling station on Sunday, Orbán, 62, said the campaign was “a good moment for the whole country for us” and thanked activists and supporters for their work. “I’m here to win,” the Associated Press reported.
In an interview earlier in the week, Péter Magyar complained that the EU’s longest-serving leader had led the country in a “180-degree turn” in recent years, risking the West’s position while moving closer to Moscow. However, despite that drift, “Hungarians still see that the peace and development of Hungary is guaranteed by the membership of the European Union and NATO,” said Magyar. “I think this will be a survey of our country’s place in the world,” he told the Associated Press.
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Results are expected later this afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
