Who will win the NRW election?

Wüst and Kuchaty want to get the win

Created: 05/15/2022, 15:20

By: Stephanie Munk

Who will win the NRW election: the incumbent CDU Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (left) or the most promising challenger Thomas Kutschaty (SPD).

© John Macdougall and Ina Fassbender/various sources/AFP

Who will win the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia?

Hendrik Wüst and Thomas Kutschaty are the most promising candidates.

Who will win the election in the end is completely open.

Düsseldorf – Sunday (May 15) is a crucial day not only for North Rhine-Westphalia, but for all of federal politics.

The state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia are considered small federal elections, as they take place in Germany's most populous federal state.

The NRW election is therefore considered an important test for the federal parties.

The question of who will win the election is being watched with excitement nationwide.

The CDU, which is sending the incumbent Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst into the running, and the SPD, with their rather unknown top candidate Thomas Kutschaty, are hoping for an election victory.

It could be exciting until it is clear who will win the election, because it is still completely open who will win the NRW election.

In polls for the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Wüst and Kuschaty are pretty much on par.

Who wins NRW election?

There will probably not be a sweeping election winner

So Wüst cannot hope for a brilliant election victory like that of CDU colleague Daniel Günther, who narrowly won an absolute majority in the Schleswig-Holstein elections on May 8th.

The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia hardly enjoys an official bonus.

He only took over the office in October 2021 from his predecessor Armin Laschet (CDU), who was quite popular and successful as Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, but failed unluckily as a candidate for Chancellor.

At 46, Wüst is one of the youngest prime ministers in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia.

He is married and became a father last year.

Thomas Kutschaty also wants to win the NRW election.

His CDU competitor Hendrik Wüst was able to slightly increase his lead according to polls for the North Rhine-Westphalia elections, but an election victory for Kuschaty is quite conceivable.

Kuschaty hoped for tailwind from the recent clear election victory of the SPD in Saarland.

Kuschaty has been opposition leader in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament since 2018, and he is also vice-chairman of the SPD.

The 53-year-old lives in Essen, is married and has three children.

Who will win in North Rhine-Westphalia?

The top candidates of the remaining parties are:

• Mona Neubaur (Greens):

  The 44-year-old was born in Pöttmes, Bavaria, and has lived in her adopted home of Düsseldorf since studying education, psychology and sociology.

  Since 2014 she has been NRW state leader of her party and the only woman among the most promising top candidates in the state.

• Joachim Stamp (FDP):

  Since 2017 NRW Minister for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration and Deputy Prime Minister.

  The 51-year-old has been a member of the Düsseldorf state parliament since 2012.

• Markus Wagner (AfD):

  The 58-year-old entered the Düsseldorf state parliament in 2017 via his party's state list and is the leader of the parliamentary group.

  Before joining the AfD in 2013, he was already a member of the CDU and the right-wing populist splinter party Rechte Mitte Heimat Hamburg.

NRW state election: When will the election winner be determined?

But when will it be clear who will win the NRW elections, when will there be a result from North Rhine-Westphalia?

Probably not yet on election night (May 15).

After counting the more than 13 million votes and announcing the final result, the parties still have to come together to form a governing coalition.

And according to forecasts, there are a wide variety of options: black-green, red-green, a grand coalition of CDU and SPD and a traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP as well as a Jamaica coalition of CDU and FDP are possible variants.

In the end, the Greens could prove to be the kingmakers, and according to current polls, they could become the third strongest force in the NRW state elections.

According to a recent survey on Thursday (May 12), there would be a majority both for a coalition of the CDU and the Greens and very narrowly for a red-green government.

Thus, Thomas Kutschaty could also become prime minister if his SPD party does not get the most votes, but the Greens win for a coalition.