MEXICO CITY (AP) — The internal leadership election for Mexico's old ruling party has apparently gone to the governor of the southern state of Campeche, who is seen as close to current President Andres Manuel López Obrador.

An exit poll by the polling firm Consultas Mitofsky points to a victory for Gov. Alejandro Moreno in the vote to lead the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

The party known as the PRI ruled Mexico from 1929 to 2000, then regained the presidency in 2012-2018. López Obrador's crushing victory last year stunned the PRI.

Moreno's apparent victory suggests the PRI may become a sort of loyal opposition or satellite party for López Obrador. The president's own Morena party lacks the PRI's experience, discipline and political machinery.