Sandra Tsoukernik is the ANO movement's candidate for the Cheb and Tachov constituency in the 2026 Senate elections.[1][2] According to the FORUM 24 website, the movement selected her at a regional assembly.[2] In the constituency, she will face, among others, the incumbent senator Miroslav Plevný, running for Starostové, and Vladimír Keblůšek, a former Czech Television journalist, who was fielded for the election by the Naše Česko movement. [3] She is the wife of a businessman who built a casino in Rozvadov. Hospodářské noviny ranks it among the largest casinos in Central Europe, while FORUM 24 calls it the largest.[1][2]
Campaign
The candidate's campaign was supported by singer Michal David through a series of seven concerts in the Cheb and Tachov area, which ended on 4 October 2026 in Tachov. According to Parlamentní listy, Michal David also performed with the candidate in Cheb, Františkovy Lázně and Stříbro, and according to the same website, about seven thousand people gathered in Cheb. [4] Hospodářské noviny reported that her Senate priorities were mentioned only marginally at the events.[1] Tsoukernik says that in the Senate she wants to focus, for example, on improving the availability of healthcare in the region. [3] The ANO movement's leader, Andrej Babiš, was also due to appear at the gathering in Tachov.[2] According to Seznam Zprávy, Prime Minister Babiš mingled with people in the crowd in Tachov and later praised the gathering on his social media. [3]
Michal David said he has known the candidate since she was seventeen and that he is helping her also because, in his view, the Karlovy Vary Region and the Cheb and Tachov area have high unemployment. [3]
In a debate on CNN Prima News, Tsoukernik said she wants to present herself as an independent candidate supported by the ANO movement and that she is not running in order to lobby for gambling. [4]
Deputy Prime Minister and ANO Deputy Chairman Karel Havlíček told Seznam Zprávy that he sees no contradiction between the movement's stance on gambling and its support for Tsoukernik. [3]
Chronology
- — Singer Michal David performed on 4 October 2026 in Tachov at the last of seven concerts in the Cheb and Tachov area, with which he supported the pre-election campaign of ANO's Senate candidate Sandra Tsoukernik. → Hospodářské noviny FORUM 24
Pages linking here
Sources
- Hospodářské noviny
- FORUM 24
- Seznam Zprávy — 5 October 2026
- Parlamentní listy — 4 October 2026