Clear election victory in NRW: who voted for the CDU - and why

Created: 05/16/2022, 09:56

By: Patrick Mayer

Election winner in NRW: Hendrik Wüst from the CDU.

© IMAGO / Kirchner Media

The CDU won a clear victory in the 2022 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Election researchers explain with whom Hendrik Wüst scored.

And what Thomas Kuchaty's problem was.

Munich – The CDU is the winner in the 2022 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia.

According to the preliminary official final result, the CDU clearly won the state elections on Sunday with 35.7 percent ahead of the SPD (26.7 percent).

It is a clear defeat for the Social Democrats in Düsseldorf.

But: who voted for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany?

And what problem did the SPD have to contend with for their top candidate Thomas Kuchaty?

State elections in NRW: Thomas Kutschaty from the SPD is not very well known

According to election researchers, the CDU owes its success in the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia to its top candidate Wüst, its good reputation and an older electorate.

In terms of content, however, the CDU shows relative deficits, according to an analysis by the Mannheim research group Wahlen published on Sunday evening.

The SPD also scored with reputation and social issues, "but their top candidate remains pale".

Wüst scored a 1.8 on the +5/-5 scale while watching.

In a prime minister comparison, however, this is only a moderate result, according to the election researchers.

"SPD challenger Thomas Kutschaty, whom half of those surveyed do not know by name," came to 1.4.

According to the survey, 41 percent of those surveyed wanted Wüst to be head of government in Düsseldorf, and 61 percent said the previous Prime Minister did a good job.

Only 33 percent wanted challenger Kuchaty as head of government.

In the video: State elections 2022 in North Rhine-Westphalia - the votes of the politicians

The election winner, however, was able to score particularly well with older voters.

"The foundation for the success of the CDU is once again being laid by the 60+ generation," says the analysis.

State election in NRW: CDU scores with older voters - and benefits from Hendrik Wüst

The CDU has increased to 43 percent among the generation of those aged 60 and over, who have a high participation rate, but have suffered losses among those under 45.

Among the under-30s, for example, the CDU fell behind the Greens (25 percent) and the SPD (21 percent) with 18 percent.

The CDU can still celebrate the result of May 15th.

It was the second major electoral success within a week.

On May 8, the conservative party also clearly won the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein.