Schwesig secures 98.9% SPD nomination as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern braces for September election

Party convention in Wismar

At a state party convention in Wismar on Saturday, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's SPD delegates nominated Minister-President Manuela Schwesig as their lead candidate for the 20 September state election. She received 98.9 percent of the vote (90 of 91 valid ballots), surpassing her 96.4 percent result from five years earlier. The 52-year-old has led the northeastern state since June 2017, currently in a coalition with Die Linke. Schwesig framed the coming campaign as a choice between two irreconcilable outcomes.

Either Manuela Schwesig as minister-president with a strong SPD and a strong, democratic, reliable government, or the sole rule of the AfD.

The party also adopted its election programme, which it labels a "government programme," and finalised its state list. No major disputes or contested candidacies emerged at the gathering.

Polling gap and the 2021 precedent

The SPD enters the campaign from a polling deficit. A May survey placed the AfD at 36 percent and the SPD at 27 percent, with Die Linke at 13 percent and the CDU at 10 percent. The BSW stood at 5 percent, the threshold for parliamentary entry, while the Greens (4 percent) and FDP (2 percent) would fall short of the 5 percent hurdle.

Schwesig pointed to the 2021 state election as proof that polls can shift decisively. In June of that year, the SPD was polling at 23 percent after the strains of the pandemic. On election day the party won 39.6 percent and became the strongest force in the Schwerin state parliament. The party is betting on a similar late swing, this time powered by Schwesig's incumbency advantage.

Challengers and other party lists

The AfD's chancellor-candidate for the state is Bundestag member Leif-Erik Holm. He will run as a direct candidate in the same Schwerin electoral district as Schwesig, without the safety net of a state list placement, meaning he must win the constituency outright to enter the state parliament. The other parties have also set their lead candidates: Education Minister Simone Oldenburg leads the Linke list, state chair Daniel Peters heads the CDU ticket, Peter Schabbel leads the BSW, Claudia Müller the Greens, and Jakob Schirmer the FDP.

Sellering's return

A notable moment at the convention came from Schwesig's predecessor. Former Minister-President Erwin Sellering, who had occasionally voiced criticism of Schwesig in recent years (particularly over her handling of the controversial climate foundation), took the stage in Wismar to back her candidacy. He stressed the importance of unity and received a standing ovation from delegates. The gesture was widely read as a signal of party cohesion heading into a contested election.

SPD convention in Düsseldorf

On the same day in North Rhine-Westphalia, the SPD's state convention nominated parliamentary group leader Jochen Ott as its lead candidate for the state election on 25 April 2027. The 52-year-old Cologne-based education policy specialist received 96.2 percent of delegate votes. He has served in the state parliament since 2010 and has led the SPD caucus since 2023. The state executive had proposed his candidacy in January.

I am ready to fight with you.

Ott will challenge incumbent Minister-President Hendrik Wüst of the CDU, who governs Germany's most populous state in a black-green coalition. Polling currently shows the CDU with a clear lead. The SPD last held power in NRW from 2010 to 2017 under Hannelore Kraft, before Armin Laschet's CDU took over. Ott pledged a relief package for families if the SPD returns to government.