In this article, we provide new evidence that contributes to our understanding of the conditions which influence the existence and degree of economic voting in subnational elections in a multiparty context in a developing democracy. Based on data from Brazilian gubernatorial elections held between 1994 and 2014, we find confirmation, in the case of a developing democracy, of conclusions reached in other studies of developed democracies: that subnational economic voting is moderated by the structure of the state economy in labor-intense jurisdictions dominated by industry and services. Economic performance in the year of the election also matters to the degree that a state has more autonomy from the federal government.