# Saale-Orla-Kreis I

Saale-Orla-Kreis I is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Landtag of Thuringia. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 33. It covers the southern part of Saale-Orla-Kreis.
Saale-Orla-Kreis I was created for the 1994 state election. Since 2019, it has been represented by Uwe Thrum of Alternative for Germany (AfD).

## Geography

As of the 2019 state election, Saale-Orla-Kreis I covers the southern part of Saale-Orla-Kreis, specifically the municipalities of Bad Lobenstein, Burgk, Dittersdorf, Dreba, Gefell, Görkwitz, Göschitz, Hirschberg, Kirschkau, Knau, Löhma, Moßbach, Neundorf (at Schleiz), Oettersdorf, Plothen, Pörmitz, Remptendorf, Rosenthal am Rennsteig, Saalburg-Ebersdorf, Schleiz (excluding Crispendorf), Tanna, Tegau, Volkmannsdorf, and Wurzbach.

## Members

The constituency was held by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from its creation in 1994 until 2019, during which time it was represented by Siegfried Wetzel (1994–2014) and Stefan Gruhner (2014–2019). It was won by Alternative for Germany in 2019, and is represented by Uwe Thrum.
| Election | Member | Party | % |
| 1994 | Siegfried Wetzel | CDU | 44.7 |
| 1999 | Siegfried Wetzel | CDU | 48.7 |
| 2004 | Siegfried Wetzel | CDU | 38.0 |
| 2009 | Siegfried Wetzel | CDU | 28.9 |
| 2014 | Stefan Gruhner | CDU | 42.1 |
| 2019 | Uwe Thrum | AfD | 29.0 |
| 2024 | Uwe Thrum | AfD | 40.7 |

## Election results
### 2024 election

State election (2024): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | AfD | Y Uwe Thrum | Y Uwe Thrum | 11,391 | 47.4 | 18.4 | 9,826 | 40.7 | 13.5 |
| | CDU | Katrin Gerdorf | Katrin Gerdorf | 7,953 | 33.1 | 4.9 | 5,562 | 23.0 | 0.7 |
| | BSW | | | | | | 3,731 | 15.4 | |
| | Left | Ralf Kalich | Ralf Kalich | 3,026 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 2,898 | 12.0 | 19.9 |
| | UBV | Lennart Scheffczyk | Lennart Scheffczyk | 853 | 3.6 | | | | |
| | SPD | Moritz Kalthoff | Moritz Kalthoff | 793 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 735 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
| | Greens | | | | | | 281 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| | FW | | | | | | 255 | 1.1 | |
| | FDP | | | | | | 243 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| | APT | | | | | | 200 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| | Familie | | | | | | 117 | 0.5 | |
| | Values | | | | | | 110 | 0.5 | |
| | BD | | | | | | 92 | 0.4 | |
| | Pirates | | | | | | 57 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| | ÖDP | | | | | | 38 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| | MLPD | | | | | | 26 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 329 | | | 174 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 24,016 | | | 24,171 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,345 | 76.7 | 8.8 | | | |
| | AfD hold | AfD hold | Majority | 3,438 | 14.3 | 13.5 | | | |

### 2019 election

State election (2019): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | AfD | Uwe Thrum | Uwe Thrum | 6,643 | 29.0 | | 6,235 | 27.2 | 15.1 |
| | CDU | N Stefan Gruhner | N Stefan Gruhner | 6,452 | 28.2 | 13.9 | 5,116 | 22.3 | 15.3 |
| | Left | Ralf Kalich | Ralf Kalich | 5,755 | 25.1 | 6.7 | 7,328 | 31.9 | 3.3 |
| | SPD | Werner Christel | Werner Christel | 1,575 | 6.9 | 4.8 | 1,473 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
| | FDP | Felix Schaum | Felix Schaum | 1,035 | 4.5 | 0.4 | 1,158 | 5.0 | 2.6 |
| | Free Voters | Christian Meyer | Christian Meyer | 731 | 3.2 | | | | |
| | Greens | Sabine Reichmann | Sabine Reichmann | 659 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 542 | 2.4 | 1.0 |
| | MLPD | Johannes Rupprecht | Johannes Rupprecht | 37 | 0.2 | | 52 | 0.2 | |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 1,052 | 4.6 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 286 | | | 217 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 22,887 | | | 22,956 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,173 | 67.9 | 11.5 | | | |
| | AfD gain from CDU | AfD gain from CDU | Majority | 191 | 0.8 | | | | |

### 2014 election

State election (2014): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Stefan Gruhner | Stefan Gruhner | 8,410 | 42.1 | 13.2 | 7,604 | 37.6 | 4.6 |
| | Left | Ralf Kalich | Ralf Kalich | 6,345 | 31.8 | 5.2 | 5,778 | 28.6 | 0.3 |
| | AfD | | | | | | 2,446 | 12.1 | |
| | SPD | Kai Vöcking | Kai Vöcking | 2,338 | 11.7 | 10.2 | 2,110 | 10.4 | 8.6 |
| | Greens | Janina Geiler | Janina Geiler | 997 | 5.0 | | 689 | 3.4 | 0.1 |
| | FDP | Sandra Scherf-Michel | Sandra Scherf-Michel | 981 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 479 | 2.4 | 4.8 |
| | The Homeland | Danny Ptotenhauer | Danny Ptotenhauer | 903 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 580 | 2.9 | 1.2 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 525 | 2.6 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 429 | | | 192 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 19,974 | | | 20,211 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,403 | 56.4 | 1.2 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 2,065 | 10.3 | 8.0 | | | |

### 2009 election

State election (2009): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Y Siegfried Wetzel | Y Siegfried Wetzel | 6,344 | 28.9 | 9.1 | 7,264 | 33.0 | 12.9 |
| | Left | Ralf Kalich | Ralf Kalich | 5,843 | 26.6 | 1.0 | 6,238 | 28.3 | 2.8 |
| | SPD | Rüdiger Wohl | Rüdiger Wohl | 4,820 | 21.9 | 5.5 | 4,182 | 19.0 | 4.8 |
| | Independent | Andreas Scheffczyk | Andreas Scheffczyk | 2,599 | 11.8 | 3.6 | | | |
| | FDP | Frank Stephan Bergner | Frank Stephan Bergner | 1,495 | 6.8 | 2.2 | 1,578 | 7.2 | 3.2 |
| | The Homeland | Udo Illig | Udo Illig | 865 | 3.9 | | 902 | 4.1 | 2.8 |
| | Greens | | | | | | 776 | 3.5 | 0.7 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 1,086 | 4.9 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 458 | | | 398 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 21,966 | | | 22,026 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,424 | 57.6 | 2.6 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 501 | 2.3 | 10.1 | | | |

### 2004 election

State election (2004): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Y Siegfried Wetzel | Y Siegfried Wetzel | 8,084 | 38.0 | 10.7 | 9,781 | 45.9 | 4.6 |
| | PDS | Klaus Möller | Klaus Möller | 5,449 | 25.6 | 4.3 | 5,437 | 25.5 | 4.9 |
| | SPD | Stefan Fricke | Stefan Fricke | 3,497 | 16.4 | 3.7 | 3,027 | 14.2 | 3.5 |
| | Independent | Andreas Scheffczyk | Andreas Scheffczyk | 3,283 | 15.4 | | | | |
| | FDP | Thomas Witt | Thomas Witt | 971 | 4.6 | | 842 | 4.0 | 2.8 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 2,222 | 10.4 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 914 | | | 889 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 21,284 | | | 21,309 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,198 | 55.0 | 5.6 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 2,635 | 12.4 | 15.0 | | | |

### 1999 election

State election (1999): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Y Siegfried Wetzel | Y Siegfried Wetzel | 11,867 | 48.7 | 4.0 | 12,384 | 50.5 | 5.4 |
| | PDS | Hannelore Fleischmann | Hannelore Fleischmann | 5,189 | 21.3 | 7.1 | 5,048 | 20.6 | 5.0 |
| | SPD | Wolfgang Linke | Wolfgang Linke | 4,889 | 20.1 | 6.0 | 4,350 | 17.7 | 10.2 |
| | VIBT | Andreas Scheffczyk | Andreas Scheffczyk | 1,761 | 7.2 | | 727 | 3.0 | |
| | REP | Manfred Annemüller | Manfred Annemüller | 658 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 307 | 1.3 | 0.5 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 1,720 | 7.0 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 404 | | | 232 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 24,364 | | | 24,536 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,768 | 60.6 | 16.0 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 6,678 | 27.4 | 8.8 | | | |

### 1994 election

State election (1994): Saale-Orla-Kreis I :
| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Siegfried Wetzel | Siegfried Wetzel | 13,712 | 44.7 | | 13,928 | 45.1 | |
| | SPD | | | 7,998 | 26.1 | | 8,614 | 27.9 | |
| | PDS | | | 4,366 | 14.2 | | 4,819 | 15.6 | |
| | FDP | | | 1,612 | 5.3 | | 1,079 | 3.5 | |
| | New Forum | | | 1,365 | 4.5 | | 364 | 1.2 | |
| | Greens | | | 1,076 | 3.5 | | 1,170 | 3.8 | |
| | REP | | | 539 | 1.8 | | 547 | 1.8 | |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 351 | 1.1 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 790 | | | 586 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 30,668 | | | 30,872 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,458 | 76.6 | | | | |
| | CDU win new seat | CDU win new seat | Majority | 5,714 | 18.6 | | | | |