Blow for Scholz as conservatives win key German state vote
ABC News
Exit polls suggest that voters backed the incumbent conservative governor and dealt a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats in Germany’s most populous state Sunday
BERLIN -- Exit polls suggest that voters backed the incumbent conservative governor and dealt a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats in Germany’s most populous state Sunday.
Figures released after voting ended at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT; 12 p.m. EDT) in the North Rhine-Westphalia state election showed the Christian Democrats making small gains to take 35% of the vote.
Public broadcaster WDR reported that the Social Democrats were projected to get 27.5%, while the environmentalist Greens' share stood at 18.5%, a new record for the party in the state. The pro-business Free Democrats saw a big drop in support and were on course to get 5% of the vote, the minimum required to enter the state parliament.
The election in North Rhine-Westphalia was seen as an important test for Scholz. His government at the national level has faced a challenging start tackling the fallout from the pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine.
