Less than two weeks after entering Brazil's presidential race as the Socialist Party candidate, polls show that Marina Silva has widened her lead over President Dilma Rousseff.

According to a survey by polling firm Datafolha, Silva's lead over the incumbent president has jumped to 10 percentage points, reports Reuters. As a result, polls predict that there will likely be a runoff between the two candidates in the national election in October.

Silva's jump in the polls was boosted during the first televised campaign debate on Tuesday, where she attacked Rousseff for his response to massive protests last year demanding better government and public services. She also criticized another leading contender, Brazilian Social Democracy Party candidate Aecio Neves, for his education policies and record as a former governor.

Furthermore, during the debate she stayed on message, frequently repeating her call for a more inclusive government that would focus on education, public safety and health care.

"Marina was the only candidate to present proposals for her future administration," said David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Another poll, recently released by the polling institute Ibope, also indicates that Silva would beat Rousseff in a runoff, where she would garner 45 percent of the vote and Rousseff would gain about 36 percent.

Silva, an evangelical Christian and environmentalist, entered the race following the sudden death of her former running mate Eduardo Campos, who died in a plane crash in Aug.

Although Silva appeals to a wide spectrum of voters, critics question whether her conservative values will alienate younger, urban supporters.

"We need to see how Marina will absorb the expected wave of criticism from all others candidates and also how she, who is a very conservative and religious person, will respond those questions about her position of issues such as abortion" and drug legalization, said Mauro Paulino, the director of polling institute Datafolha.