Overview

• Voting for Hamburg's Bürgerschaft, the city-state's parliament, began Sunday morning and will continue until 6 PM, with over 1.3 million eligible voters participating.
• The SPD, led by incumbent Mayor Peter Tschentscher, is projected to remain the strongest party with 32-33% support, while the CDU and Greens are in a tight race for second place with 16-18%.
• The ruling SPD-Green coalition, in power since 2015, is expected to retain a majority, but other configurations, including SPD-CDU or SPD-Left alliances, are also possible based on poll trends.
• Key election issues include housing affordability, transportation, public safety, and economic growth, with SPD seen as strong on economic and social issues, and CDU gaining traction on security and mobility.
• This election follows a challenging Bundestag result for the SPD, but local dynamics and Tschentscher's popularity may help the party outperform its national trend.