Overview

• The SPD’s executive board unanimously proposed Krach, with a final endorsement scheduled for the 15 November Landesparteitag.
• Krach confirmed his return to Berlin and his Spitzenkandidatur in a letter to staff at the Hannover regional administration.
• He remains Regionspräsident and says he will negotiate a transition that avoids a new election in the Region Hannover while freeing time to campaign.
• Party leaders set the goal of becoming the strongest force in the Abgeordnetenhaus and reclaiming the mayor’s office from CDU incumbent Kai Wegner in the 20 September 2026 vote.
• Economy Senator Franziska Giffey publicly backed Krach, who previously served as Berlin’s state secretary for science and won the Hannover post with a strong mandate in 2021.