Against the background of the AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt and the crisis at the Volkswagen car company, which is so important for Lower Saxony, the elections are also in the spotlight nationwide - as a gauge for the mood in a western German state before the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin take place on Sunday.
The pressure on the federal government remains – breathing space for the CDU
Despite losses, the CDU around Lower Saxony's state leader Sebastian Lechner can still claim some positive things: an absolute majority in the mayoral election in the VW city of Wolfsburg with Dennis Weilmann, for example, or entry into the runoff election for the regional president of the Hanover region with Oliver Junk. The series as the strongest force in district elections in the country, which has been going on since 1981, also continued. The CDU can breathe deeply.
However, Lechner made it unmistakably clear that the result was successful “despite this federal trend”. If one is asked at every stand in the local election campaign about dissatisfaction with Berlin's politics, then it is clear that "we have not delivered enough," said Lechner and demanded: "I think there needs to be a political change in Berlin. We have to relieve the burden on people. Energy prices are too high, housing prices are too high. There is too little net of the gross." To achieve this, the federal government must make bold decisions by the end of the year.
When asked about the future of Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz, the state chairman said that now was no time for personnel discussions. The CDU must concentrate on the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin next week. After that, the Union must discuss what happens next.
However, the Union's coalition partner in the federal government, the SPD, has to accept even greater losses - in the home country of Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Lower Saxony's Prime Minister and SPD state leader Lies said in a cryptic way: "Lower Saxony has not completely escaped the influences of the last few weeks at the federal political level." Trust in the established parties is strained and voters are “not going to other democratic forces, but to the fringes.”
The AfD is not a phenomenon from the East
Anyone who wanted to interpret the AfD's huge success in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt as typically East German will see in Lower Saxony: The AfD is also on the rise in West Germany, even in local politics. Compared to 2021, it has more than tripled its results at the district level.
In the Salzgitter city council, the AfD became the strongest force by a narrow margin. With 27.39 percent, the party came in ahead of the SPD (25.85 percent) and the CDU (23.23). In the fight for the city's mayor's office, AfD candidate Patricia Mair is also going into the runoff election against incumbent Frank Klingebiel (CDU).
AfD state leader Ansgar Schledde celebrated: “The AfD has been a local party since today and we will go into the state elections strengthened with this enormous support and the newly planted roots.” In just over a year, on September 26, 2027, Lower Saxony's state parliament will be elected.
Schledde also recalled that four AfD candidates were not allowed to run in the local elections because of doubts about their loyalty to the constitution. The state leader said that this had “raised awareness that a clear democratic alternative was needed as a corrective even at the smallest level of our state.”
The AfD Lower Saxony is classified as a right-wing extremist object of observation by the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The four exclusions of AfD candidates were decided by the electoral committees of the respective municipalities. The AfD is legally defending itself against both the classification by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the exclusion from the elections.
Red-green is weakening – the left is gaining ground
Coalitions between the SPD and the Greens have become rare; in Lower Saxony they still exist in the state government. But: Together, according to projections, both parties have now lost almost eight percentage points at the district level.
There are bright spots both for the SPD - for example with Eva Bender, who was leading in round one as regional president for Hanover - and for the Greens - especially with the acting mayor of Hanover, Belit Onay, who is once again clearly leading. However, the nationwide trend should give the governing parties something to think about. Prime Minister Lies spoke of a “difficult result”.
Especially since there is another election winner alongside the AfD: the Left. The party has tripled its membership in Lower Saxony since 2024. Now she has been able to roughly double her result in the district elections. If the response in the state elections in 2027 is similarly high, the Left could enter the state parliament again for the first time since 2013.
Onay and von der Ohe move into the OB runoff election in Hanover
In the mayoral election in Hanover, incumbent Belit Onay (Greens) and SPD candidate Axel von der Ohe move into the runoff election. According to the preliminary final result, Onay received 45.6 percent and von der Ohe 21.5 percent, according to data from the state capital Hanover.
Salzgitter becomes an AfD stronghold
Salzgitter is becoming a stronghold of the AfD in Lower Saxony: The AfD has become the strongest force in the Salzgitter city council by a narrow margin. The party is also still in the running for the mayoral election in the city.
Of all the votes cast in the city council election, the party received 27.39 percent. This put the AfD just ahead of the SPD (25.85 percent) and the CDU (23.23). The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Lower Saxony classifies the AfD as a right-wing extremist object of observation. The party is defending itself legally. However, four AfD candidates were not admitted to the election because of doubts about their loyalty to the constitution.
In the fight for the mayor's office in Salzgitter, AfD candidate Patricia Mair is also going into the runoff election against incumbent Frank Klingebiel (CDU). Klingebiel received 45.61 percent of the votes, Mair got 25.67.
Salzgitter has a large proportion of migrants, social problems and an above-average unemployment rate. The city recently attracted nationwide attention when the city council voted by a majority in December 2025 to examine whether asylum seekers should be required to work. Around 100,000 people live in the city, which is an amalgamation of several places.
Lower Saxony's CDU leader calls for "change in Berlin"
Lower Saxony's CDU leader Sebastian Lechner is calling on the federal government to reorient itself after the local elections. "I think there needs to be a political change in Berlin. We have to relieve the burden on people. The energy prices are too high, the housing prices are too high. There is too little net of the gross," said Lechner in Hanover. To achieve this, the federal government must make bold decisions by the end of the year.
Lechner rated the CDU's first results in the local elections in Lower Saxony as good "despite this national trend". "We have also noticed the displeasure with Berlin. You know that we have a credibility problem, which we will certainly have to discuss with each other calmly in the next few weeks," said the state chairman.
Discussions about relief after the state elections
When asked about the future of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), Lechner said that now was no time for personnel discussions. The CDU must concentrate on the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin next week. “And then we will discuss together as the CDU team how, from the 20th, we can manage to provide more tangible relief to the people in this country, to make policies that will bring economic recovery again, and we will organize this as a unit as the CDU team.” As Chancellor, Merz is an essential part of this CDU team.
Regarding the speculation about a possible minority government of the Union under Merz, Lechner said: "I don't know the mind games. I think they are completely absurd, and I am also grateful that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has clearly denied this."
State leader Schledde: “AfD has now become a local party”
The AfD state chairman Ansgar Schledde described his party as the “clear winner of the evening” in the local elections in Lower Saxony. According to an projection by Infratest dimap on behalf of NDR, the AfD is recording strong gains: it would more than triple from 4.6 percent to 16.5 percent.
“The AfD has been a local party since today and we will go into the state elections strengthened with this enormous support and the newly established roots,” said Schledde, according to a statement. The party sees “this as a sign that citizens want a self-confident conservative force as a corrective force, also at the district and municipal level,” it said.
CDU candidate Karst admits defeat in mayoral election
One of the first decisions was made shortly before 8 p.m. that the town hall in the VW city of Wolfsburg would remain in CDU hands: In the mayoral election, incumbent Dennis Weilmann (CDU) narrowly won an absolute majority with 50.1 percent. Karsten Schneider from the SPD came in second with 15.5 percent, ahead of Thomas Schick from the AfT with 14.1 percent.
In the state capital of Hanover, there were early indications that there would be a runoff election in two weeks. After more than two thirds of the votes were counted, the incumbent mayor Belit Onay (Greens) was well ahead of his SPD challenger Axel von der Ohe.
CDU candidate Peter Karst has meanwhile admitted his defeat. “Looking at the board here, from my point of view the election in Hanover was over,” Karst told supporters of his party on election evening. The result affects him “deeply”.
Karst apologized to his supporters for the result and took responsibility. The CDU wanted to offer people a fundamental policy change, but their messages did not get through. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to meet people where they were,” said Karst. Onay and von der Ohe wished a fair and objective runoff election.
Karst is a lawyer and managing director of the Hanover Chamber of Crafts. It was only shortly before the election that it became known that the public prosecutor's office was investigating the chamber. The background is possible violations of social security obligations when using honorary lecturers. Karst had stated that the Chamber of Crafts was cooperating fully with the investigative authorities. The presumption of innocence applies.
Karst had only joined the CDU before his candidacy. He wanted to bring about a change at the top of the town hall with issues such as the economy, security, cleanliness and faster administration. Onay has been mayor since 2019.
