2023 Hessian state election

2023 Hessian state election

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All 133 seats of the Landtag of Hesse, including 23 overhang and leveling seats 67 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	2,812,560 (64.9%) 2.4%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Boris Rhein Robert Lambrou Nancy Faeser Party CDU AfD SPD Last election 40 seats, 27.0% 19 seats, 13.1% 29 seats, 19.8% Seats won 52 28 23 Seat change 12 9 6 Popular vote 972,876 518,763 424,587 Percentage 34.6% 18.4% 15.1% Swing 7.6% 5.3% 4.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Die Linke Leader Tarek Al-Wazir Stefan Naas Elisabeth Kula Jan Schalauske Party Greens FDP Left Last election 29 seats, 19.8% 11 seats, 7.5% 9 seats, 6.3% Seats won 22 8 0 Seat change 7 3 9 Popular vote 416,035 141,644 86,842 Percentage 14.8% 5.0% 3.1% Swing 5.0% 2.5% 3.2%
Map of the election, showing the winner of each single-member district and the distribution of list seats
Government before election First Rhein cabinet CDU–Green Government after election Second Rhein cabinet CDU–SPD

The 2023 Hessian state elections was held on Sunday October 8, to elect the 21st Landtag of Hesse.^[1] The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union and The Greens, led by Minister-President Boris Rhein of the CDU. The 2023 Bavarian state election was held the same day.

The result was a clear victory for the CDU, which took almost 35% of the vote on a swing of 7.6 percentage points. At 18%, the Alternative for Germany lifted its vote by over five points and became the second-largest party in a Western state for the first time. The Greens conversely lost five points, falling to fourth place on 15%, just behind the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) which suffered similar losses. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) narrowly passed the 5% electoral threshold with a 5.035% vote share; meanwhile, The Left fell to 3.1% and lost all their seats.^[2]

Overall, the incumbent coalition increased its majority, with a strengthened position for the leading CDU. The result, amidst a campaign dominated by federal issues such as immigration, was perceived as a blow for the federal government, with its three member parties – the SPD, Greens, and FDP – all suffering losses. The results also indicated the increasing popularity of the far-right AfD, which in previous months had moved into second place in federal opinion polling.^[3][4]