Overview

• The SPD’s Schwerin district named Manuela Schwesig its direct candidate for Schwerin 1 with 96.5 percent support with three abstentions.
• AfD state leader Leif-Erik Holm has been selected to contest the same constituency, mounting a direct challenge to the incumbent.
• An NDR survey shows the AfD at 38 percent statewide, roughly double its previous share, while the SPD polls around 19 percent.
• Schwesig won Schwerin 1 with 46.4 percent in 2021, when the SPD took 39.6 percent across the state.
• She told party members she intends to continue leading the state beyond 2026 and ruled out a return to federal politics.