# 2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

The 2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 14 May 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Hannelore Kraft was defeated. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) became the largest party and formed a coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP). CDU leader Armin Laschet was subsequently elected Minister-President.
This election was the last election in which an incumbent Minister-President was defeated until the 2022 Saarland state election.

## Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 2012 result | 2012 result |
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | Votes (%) | Seats |
| | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands | Social democracy | Hannelore Kraft | 39.1% | 99 / 237 |
| | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands | Christian democracy | Armin Laschet | 26.3% | 67 / 237 |
| | Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | Green politics | Sylvia Löhrmann | 11.3% | 29 / 237 |
| | FDP | Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei | Classical liberalism | Christian Lindner | 8.6% | 22 / 237 |
| | Piraten | Pirate Party Germany Piratenpartei Deutschland | Pirate politics | Michele Marsching | 7.8% | 20 / 237 |

## Opinion polling
### Party polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | SPD | CDU | Grüne | FDP | Piraten | Linke | AfD | Others | Lead |
| 2017 state election | 14 May 2017 | – | 31.2 | 33.0 | 6.4 | 12.6 | 1.0 | 4.9 | 7.4 | 3.5 | 1.8 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 8–11 May 2017 | 2,402 | 31 | 32 | 6.5 | 13.5 | – | 6 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 1 |
| YouGov | 8–10 May 2017 | 1,017 | 30 | 31 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| INSA | 3–8 May 2017 | 1,139 | 33 | 30 | 7 | 13 | – | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 2–4 May 2017 | 1,032 | 32 | 32 | 7.5 | 12 | – | 6 | 6 | 4.5 | Tie |
| Infratest dimap | 2–3 May 2017 | 1,000 | 32 | 31 | 7 | 13 | – | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Forsa | 20–25 Apr 2017 | 1,003 | 35 | 29 | 6 | 12 | – | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| YouGov | 12–19 Apr 2017 | 1,051 | 36 | 27 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 9 |
| Infratest dimap | 18–20 Apr 2017 | 1,003 | 34 | 34 | 6 | 10 | – | 5 | 8 | 3 | Tie |
| INSA | 30 Mar–4 Apr 2017 | 1,000 | 37 | 28 | 6 | 10 | – | 5 | 10 | 4 | 9 |
| Infratest dimap | 14–16 Mar 2017 | 1,001 | 37 | 30 | 6 | 9 | – | 5 | 9 | 4 | 7 |
| Forsa | 20 Feb–10 Mar 2017 | 1,040 | 40 | 26 | 6 | 11 | – | 5 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| INSA | 22 Feb–3 Mar 2017 | 1,199 | 38 | 27 | 7 | 10 | – | 4 | 11 | 3 | 11 |
| Infratest dimap | 14–16 Feb 2017 | 1,002 | 37 | 30 | 7 | 7 | – | 6 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 6–8 Feb 2017 | 1,116 | 36 | 32 | 7 | 8 | – | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| YouGov | 13–20 Jan 2017 | 1,072 | 31 | 31 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 2 | Tie |
| Forsa | 9–20 Jan 2017 | 1,072 | 35 | 29 | 8 | 9 | – | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Emnid | 19 Dec 2016–18 Jan 2017 | 1,070 | 32 | 30 | 10 | 8 | – | 7 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| Infratest dimap | 25–27 Oct 2016 | 1,002 | 32 | 32 | 12 | 7 | – | 5 | 9 | 3 | Tie |
| YouGov | 31 Aug–7 Sep 2016 | 1,022 | 34 | 28 | 10 | 9 | – | 5 | 11 | ? | 6 |
| Mentefactum | 30 Aug–6 Sep 2016 | 1,004 | 31 | 27 | 11 | 8 | – | 5 | 13 | 3 | 4 |
| Infratest dimap | 17–20 May 2016 | 1,002 | 31 | 31 | 10 | 8 | – | 6 | 12 | 2 | Tie |
| INSA | 21–28 Apr 2016 | 1,097 | 29 | 32 | 13 | 7.5 | – | 5.5 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| Infratest dimap | 16–18 Feb 2016 | 1,002 | 31 | 33 | 9 | 7 | – | 7 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| Infratest dimap | 8–10 Dec 2015 | 1,000 | 34 | 35 | 10 | 6 | – | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Forsa | 8–27 Nov 2015 | 1,211 | 39 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| YouGov | 11–19 Nov 2015 | 1,022 | 34 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| Infratest dimap | 1–3 Sep 2015 | 1,001 | 34 | 36 | 11 | 5 | – | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Infratest dimap | 16–18 Jun 2015 | 1,000 | 36 | 35 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Forsa | 18–28 May 2015 | 1,097 | 36 | 32 | 11 | 9 | – | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| INSA | 21–22 May 2015 | 500 | 34 | 38 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| YouGov | 3–10 Dec 2014 | 1,015 | 34 | 35 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Infratest dimap | 2–4 Dec 2014 | 1,000 | 35 | 36 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Forsa | 3–10 Nov 2014 | 1,082 | 36 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ? | 3 |
| Forsa | 20–29 Aug 2014 | 1,506 | 39 | 32 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ? | 7 |
| YouGov | May 2014 | 1,006 | 39 | 34 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 5 | ? | ? | 5 |
| Infratest dimap | 5–8 May 2014 | 1,000 | 37 | 36 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| YouGov | 25 Nov–1 Dec 2013 | 1,055 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 4 | ? | 5 | ? | ? | 4 |
| Infratest dimap | 3–5 Dec 2013 | 1,000 | 37 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| YouGov | 5–16 Sep 2013 | 1,051 | 38 | 35 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 4 | ? | ? | 3 |
| Infratest dimap | 3–5 Sep 2013 | 1,009 | 40 | 36 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Infratest dimap | 21–23 May 2013 | 1,001 | 39 | 35 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 3 | – | 3 | 4 |
| YouGov | 12–22 Apr 2013 | 1,104 | 42 | 31 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 3 | – | 4 | 11 |
| Infratest dimap | 11–14 Dec 2012 | 1,001 | 40 | 32 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 4 | – | 3 | 8 |
| YouGov | 4–24 Sep 2012 | 1,020 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 4 | – | 4 | 9 |
| YouGov | 1–11 Jun 2012 | 1,061 | 38 | 29 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 3 | – | ? | 9 |
| 2012 state election | 13 May 2012 | – | 39.1 | 26.3 | 11.3 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 2.5 | – | 4.3 | 12.8 |

### Minister-President polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | | | Lead |
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Hannelore KraftSPD | Armin LaschetCDU | Lead |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 14 May 2017 | 48 | 37 | 11 |
| Infratest dimap | 14 May 2017 | 49 | 38 | 11 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 11 May 2017 | 46 | 38 | 8 |
| YouGov | 11 May 2017 | 34 | 21 | 13 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 5 May 2017 | 51 | 33 | 18 |
| Infratest dimap | 4 May 2017 | 49 | 28 | 21 |
| Forsa | 28 April 2017 | 49 | 25 | 24 |
| YouGov | 25 April 2017 | 42 | 21 | 21 |
| Infratest dimap | 23 April 2017 | 53 | 31 | 22 |
| Infratest dimap | 19 March 2017 | 57 | 22 | 35 |
| Forsa | 15 March 2017 | 55 | 22 | 33 |
| Infratest dimap | 19 February 2017 | 58 | 26 | 32 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 10 February 2017 | 55 | 29 | 26 |
| YouGov | 27 January 2017 | 46 | 16 | 30 |
| YouGov | 30 October 2016 | 56 | 20 | 36 |
| Mentefactum | 11 September 2016 | 55 | 30 | 25 |
| Infratest dimap | 22 May 2016 | 58 | 28 | 30 |
| Infratest dimap | 13 December 2015 | 61 | 21 | 40 |
| Forsa | 2 December 2015 | 63 | 18 | 45 |
| YouGov | 26 November 2015 | 50 | 15 | 35 |
| Infratest dimap | 21 June 2015 | 64 | 17 | 47 |
| YouGov | 18 December 2014 | 48 | 19 | 29 |
| Infratest dimap | 7 December 2014 | 59 | 18 | 41 |
| Infratest dimap | 11 May 2014 | 61 | 18 | 43 |

## Results

The CDU became the largest party with 33% of the vote. The governing SPD and Greens suffered a 13-point swing between them, the latter losing half their seats. The FDP achieved their best ever result in the state at 12.6%, and AfD debuted at 7.4%. The Pirates collapsed to just 1% of the vote and were ousted from the Landtag. The Left doubled their vote share to 4.9%, but fell just short of the threshold.
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| Party | Party | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Party list | Party list | Party list | Party list | Total seats | +/– |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | Total seats | +/– |
| | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 3,242,524 | 38.35 | +5.64 | 72 | 2,796,683 | 32.95 | +6.64 | 0 | 72 | +5 |
| | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 2,919,073 | 34.52 | –7.77 | 56 | 2,649,205 | 31.21 | –7.92 | 13 | 69 | –30 |
| | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 723,725 | 8.56 | +3.77 | 0 | 1,065,307 | 12.55 | +3.95 | 28 | 28 | +6 |
| | Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 460,479 | 5.45 | New | 0 | 626,756 | 7.38 | New | 16 | 16 | New |
| | Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE) | 509,571 | 6.03 | –3.27 | 0 | 539,062 | 6.35 | –5.00 | 14 | 14 | –15 |
| | The Left (LINKE) | 414,594 | 4.90 | +2.31 | 0 | 415,936 | 4.90 | +2.41 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) | 118,847 | 1.41 | –6.53 | 0 | 80,780 | 0.95 | –6.87 | 0 | 0 | –20 |
| | Action Party for Animal Protection (hier!) | | | | | 59,747 | 0.70 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Die PARTEI | 25,923 | 0.31 | +0.23 | 0 | 54,990 | 0.65 | +0.36 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Free Voters | 8,667 | 0.10 | –0.04 | 0 | 33,083 | 0.39 | +0.16 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | National Democratic Party (NPD) | | | | | 28,723 | 0.34 | –0.17 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG) | | | | | 17,421 | 0.21 | +0.07 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) | 7,208 | 0.09 | +0.07 | 0 | 13,288 | 0.16 | +0.06 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Alliance of German Democrats | | | | | 12,688 | 0.15 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | V-Partei³ | | | | | 10,013 | 0.12 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | New Start C (Aufbruch C) | 2,919 | 0.03 | New | 0 | 9,636 | 0.11 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | From now... Democracy by Referendum (Volksabstimmung) | 2,099 | 0.02 | +0.01 | 0 | 8,386 | 0.10 | New | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) | 2,496 | 0.03 | New | 0 | 7,707 | 0.09 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | The Violets (VIOLETTEN) | | | | | 7,171 | 0.08 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Youth and Development Party of Germany (JED) | | | | | 7,054 | 0.08 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | The Republicans (REP) | 1,257 | 0.01 | New | 0 | 6,597 | 0.08 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Party for Health Research (Gesundheitsforschung) | | | | | 5,964 | 0.07 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basic Income Alliance (BGE) | | | | | 5,260 | 0.06 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Beautiful Life (Schöner Leben) | | | | | 5,162 | 0.06 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Democratic Citizens Germany (DBD) | | | | | 4,742 | 0.06 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | The Right (RECHTE) | 1,990 | 0.02 | New | 0 | 3,589 | 0.04 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Centre Party (ZENTRUM) | 1,182 | 0.01 | New | 0 | 3,336 | 0.04 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | German Communist Party (DKP) | 2,416 | 0.03 | New | 0 | 2,899 | 0.03 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Free Citizens Initiative/Free Voters (FBI) | | | | | 2,877 | 0.03 | –0.09 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Independent Voter Group "BRD" | 634 | 0.01 | New | 0 | 2,002 | 0.02 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | PAN – the Independents | | | | | 1,349 | 0.02 | New | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE) | 291 | 0.00 | –0.02 | 0 | | | | | 0 | ±0 |
| | Liberal Democrats (LD) | 99 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | | | | | 0 | ±0 |
| | Liberal Conservative Reformers (LKR) | 91 | 0.00 | New | 0 | | | | | 0 | New |
| | Independents | 9,105 | 0.11 | +0.08 | 0 | | | | | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 8,455,190 | 100.00 | – | 128 | 8,487,413 | 100.00 | – | 71 | 199 | –38 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 8,455,190 | 98.58 | | | 8,487,413 | 98.95 | | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 122,031 | 1.42 | | | 89,808 | 1.05 | | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 8,577,221 | 100.00 | | | 8,577,221 | 100.00 | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 13,164,887 | 65.15 | | | 13,164,887 | 65.15 | | | | |
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