German Far-Right Expands Gains in ‘Disaster’ State Elections for Chancellor Merz

Supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) wave German flags as they attend an election campaign rally ahead of state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Neubrandenburg, Germany, on Sept.

18, 2026. —Sean Gallup—Getty Images Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won the most votes in northeastern Germany, marking the far right party’s second first-place result in state elections this year.

The AfD won 38.2% of the votes in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday, according to preliminary official counts .

It was followed by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 35.5%.

The results add onto the AfD’s earlier success in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt , bringing the party closer to regional power than any far-right party since WWII.

“We are the strongest force and have reached the mainstream of the population,” AfD national co-leader Alice Weidel declared on Sunday.

Sunday’s results were a significant blow to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the mainstream conservative party of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The CDU won just 4.9% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, its lowest ever result in any state election and below the 5% threshold needed to enter state parliament.

“We can’t sugarcoat the results,” Merz said after the first exit polls were released.

“It’s a disaster.” Despite the AfD’s success, it faces an uncertain path to governance.

Without an outright majority, the party would need support from lawmakers outside its ranks to govern, but mainstream political parties in Germany maintain a “firewall” against the AfD.

Merz has also vowed to stay on and continue his reform agenda, bucking speculation that he might resign.

AfD ran on anti-immigration, opposition to Ukraine aid In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, state party co-chairs Leif-Erik Holm and Enrico Schult, together with secretary general Dario Seifert, led the AfD’s campaign .

Like the national party, the state organization ran on a hard-line anti-immigration platform, calling for more deportations, a state border and deportation police force, and potentially a statewide halt to accepting asylum seekers.