Who will run for the state parliament in northwest Mecklenburg in 2026?

Who will run for the state parliament in northwest Mecklenburg in 2026?

Preparations for the 2026 state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are in full swing. The parties are particularly busy in the Northwest Mecklenburg constituency and have already nominated their direct candidates. The candidates from the CDU, SPD and AfD have now been determined and are ready to face the will of the voters.

Candidates in detail

In the contested constituency 10, which includes the Hanseatic city of Wismar, the SPD is running with Tilo Gundlack. He has been active in the state parliament since 2011 and can look back on a broad range of experience. His challenger from the CDU, Sabine Enseleit, is also not an unknown quantity: she switched from the FDP to the CDU and is already a member of the state parliament. And not to forget, the AfD has also found a candidate in Manuela Medrow, who was nominated on November 8th and now wants to use her chance to convince voters.

In constituency 27, which covers Grevesmühlen and the surrounding area, the SPD is relying on Birgit Hesse, who, as the current state parliament president, was able to win 38.3% of the first votes in the last election. The CDU is represented by Thomas Grote, who has been active in the district council for over 20 years and serves as district council president. The AfD is also represented: Jannik Schreiber is fighting for the voters' votes and prevailed against two applicants in an internal selection process.

In constituency 28, which covers the island of Poel and its surroundings, the AfD is led by Paul Timm, who draws attention as group leader in the district council. The CDU has Dr. Anne Ringlepp, who is known as the mayor of Klein Trebbow, was nominated. The SPD has also nominated an experienced candidate, Jens Strohschein, who has been working in the local council for over 25 years.

Women in politics

When it comes to the current selection of candidates, it is noticeable that both the SPD and the CDU are sending more male than female candidates into the race. The SPD has 14 women among 36 candidates on the list, which corresponds to a proportion of women of 38.9%, while the CDU is less balanced at 33.3% (12 out of 36). Six SPD MPs are no longer in the race, while the CDU is also parting ways with two experienced politicians, Beate Schlupp and Christiane Berg.

When it comes to age groups, the oldest SPD candidate, Till Backhaus, leads the field at 67 years old, while 72-year-old Harry Glawe holds the age record for the CDU. The youngest candidates are Michel-Friedrich Schiefler from the SPD (30 years old) and Karoline Herrmann from the CDU (35 years old).

Political mood and election forecasts

The political mood in the country is reflected by various surveys, which should, however, be viewed with a certain degree of caution. The statistical error is between 1 and 3 percentage points, which means that the actual election results may differ from the polls. The SPD remarkably won 34 of 36 constituencies in the last state election on September 26, 2021.

Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus achieved an impressive 51.5% of the vote in Ludwigslust-Parchim, while Heiko Miraß achieved the most disappointing result with 27.8% in Rügen. The plan is for the two main parties to announce their top candidates next year before things get serious.

The elections are approaching and the political actors in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are challenged. It remains to be seen how voters will decide. The tension is rising and there will certainly be a lot of water flowing down the river before the election in September 2026.

For more information about the candidates and the election process, you can view the details from the Northern Courier, dem NDR and Dawum read up.