CDU Leads SPD in Rhineland-Palatinate Vote

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union gained an early lead over its center-left coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, in a state election in Rhineland-Palatinate on Sunday, according to an initial forecast from public broadcaster ARD after polls closed.

The projection showed the CDU receiving 30.5 percent of the vote, compared to 27 percent for the SPD. This outcome suggested a potential victory for the CDU, coming two weeks after the party narrowly lost a state election in neighboring Baden-Württemberg to the Greens. In that contest, the SPD recorded its worst result in the state's postwar history, securing just 5.5 percent and barely meeting the threshold for parliamentary representation.

The Rhineland-Palatinate vote, held in the western state bordering France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, represented the second of five regional elections scheduled for this year. The state, known for its wine production and as home to chemicals company BASF, has been governed by the SPD for 35 years under Premier Alexander Schweitzer. Recent polls had indicated a close race, with the CDU's lead over the SPD narrowing in the weeks leading up to the...