In 1972, following his mayorship, he served as secretary of transport of the state of São Paulo. He would then dispute a convention of the dictatorship's ruling party, ARENA – which was supposed to be a rubber-stamping caucus aimed at choosing as official "candidate" to the state government the former governor Laudo Natel. Maluf, however, succeed in being appointed official candidate for the following indirect elections by the State Legislative – something he did by means of abundant personal (and generous) promises to the convention's members – being afterwards elected governor for the state of São Paulo in 1978.