# Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II

Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II 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 29 and It covers the eastern part of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II was created for the 1994 state election. Originally named Schwarzakreis II, it was renamed after the 1994 election. Since 2024, it has been represented by Denis Häußer of Alternative for Germany (AfD).

## Geography

As of the 2019 state election, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II covers the eastern part of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt and a small part of Sonneberg district, specifically the municipalities of Altenbeuthen, Drognitz, Gräfenthal, Hohenwarte, Kaulsdorf, Lehesten, Leutenberg, Probstzella, Saalfeld/Saale (excluding Wittgendorf), and Unterwellenborn (from Saalfeld-Rudolstadt), and Neuhaus am Rennweg (only Lichte and Piesau) from Sonneberg.

## Members

The constituency was held by the Christian Democratic Union from its creation in 1994 until 2024. Its first representative was Harald Stauch, who served from 1994 to 2009, followed by Maik Kowalleck until 2024. Denis Häußer won the seat for the AfD in 2024.
| Election | Member | Party | % |
| 1994 | Harald Stauch | CDU | 39.0 |
| 1999 | Harald Stauch | CDU | 48.8 |
| 2004 | Harald Stauch | CDU | 41.8 |
| 2009 | Maik Kowalleck | CDU | 29.3 |
| 2014 | Maik Kowalleck | CDU | 41.3 |
| 2019 | Maik Kowalleck | CDU | 30.6 |
| 2024 | Denis Häußer | AfD | 38.6 |

## Election results
### 2024 election

State election (2024): Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II :
| 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 | Denis Häußer | Denis Häußer | 11,136 | 38.6 | 9.4 | 10,684 | 36.6 | 8.8 |
| | CDU | N Maik Kowalleck | N Maik Kowalleck | 10,398 | 36.1 | 5.5 | 6,246 | 21.4 | 0.4 |
| | BSW | | | | | | 5,143 | 17.6 | |
| | Left | Katherina König-Preuss | Katherina König-Preuss | 2,956 | 10.2 | 10.7 | 3,199 | 11.0 | 18.2 |
| | SPD | Steffen Lutz | Steffen Lutz | 2,007 | 7.0 | 2.6 | 1,447 | 5.0 | 2.3 |
| | Values | Steffen Teichmann | Steffen Teichmann | 1,568 | 5.4 | | 613 | 2.1 | |
| | FDP | André-René Kube | André-René Kube | 422 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 345 | 1.2 | 4.0 |
| | Greens | Frank Bock | Frank Bock | 355 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 494 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| | APT | | | | | | 318 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| | FW | | | | | | 219 | 0.8 | |
| | Familie | | | | | | 163 | 0.6 | |
| | BD | | | | | | 117 | 0.4 | |
| | Pirates | | | | | | 95 | 0.3 | |
| | MLPD | | | | | | 40 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| | ÖDP | | | | | | 40 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 586 | | | 274 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 28,842 | | | 29,154 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,428 | 73.7 | 8.9 | | | |
| | AfD gain from CDU | AfD gain from CDU | Majority | 738 | 0.5 | | | | |

### 2019 election

State election (2019): Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II :
| 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 Maik Kowalleck | Y Maik Kowalleck | 8,603 | 30.6 | 10.7 | 6,139 | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| | AfD | Michael Kaufmann | Michael Kaufmann | 8,228 | 29.2 | | 7,828 | 27.8 | 15.2 |
| | Left | Katharina König-Preuss | Katharina König-Preuss | 5,890 | 20.9 | 7.8 | 8,222 | 29.2 | 0.8 |
| | SPD | Robert Geheeb | Robert Geheeb | 2,697 | 9.6 | 4.0 | 2,052 | 7.3 | 5.6 |
| | Greens | Olaf Müller | Olaf Müller | 1,037 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 902 | 3.2 | 1.2 |
| | FDP | Alexander Litvinenko | Alexander Litvinenko | 995 | 3.5 | 0.2 | 1,471 | 5.2 | 2.7 |
| | Free Voters | Roland Beyer | Roland Beyer | 548 | 1.9 | | | | |
| | MLPD | Gerhard Pfisterer | Gerhard Pfisterer | 147 | 0.5 | | 107 | 0.4 | |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 1,484 | 5.3 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 388 | | | 328 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 28,145 | | | 28,205 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,533 | 64.8 | 15.4 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 375 | 1.4 | 11.2 | | | |

### 2014 election

State election (2014): Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II :
| 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 Maik Kowalleck | Y Maik Kowalleck | 9,149 | 41.3 | 12.0 | 7,149 | 31.7 | 2.6 |
| | Left | Katharina König | Katharina König | 6,364 | 28.7 | 0.5 | 6,392 | 28.4 | 0.2 |
| | SPD | Julienne Trempert | Julienne Trempert | 3,022 | 13.6 | 8.1 | 2,907 | 12.9 | 6.8 |
| | AfD | | | | | | 2,829 | 12.6 | |
| | Greens | Sebastian Heuchel | Sebastian Heuchel | 1,464 | 6.6 | 1.0 | 988 | 4.4 | 0.4 |
| | NPD | Patrick Trautsch | Patrick Trautsch | 1,333 | 6.0 | 0.6 | 1,042 | 4.6 | 1.6 |
| | FDP | Eckhard Linke | Eckhard Linke | 813 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 554 | 2.5 | 5.1 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 678 | 3.0 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 883 | | | 489 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 22,145 | | | 22,539 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,028 | 49.4 | 4.3 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 2,785 | 12.6 | 11.5 | | | |

### 2009 election

State election (2009): Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II :
| 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 | Maik Kowalleck | Maik Kowalleck | 7,721 | 29.3 | 12.5 | 7,692 | 29.1 | 13.6 |
| | Left | Roland Hahnemann | Roland Hahnemann | 7,410 | 28.2 | 1.7 | 7,561 | 28.6 | 2.1 |
| | SPD | Christoph Majewski | Christoph Majewski | 5,718 | 21.7 | 0.4 | 5,194 | 19.7 | 3.5 |
| | FDP | Eckhard Linke | Eckhard Linke | 2,265 | 8.6 | 2.4 | 1,996 | 7.6 | 4.1 |
| | NPD | Patrick Trautsch | Patrick Trautsch | 1,737 | 6.6 | | 1,633 | 6.2 | 3.8 |
| | Greens | Sebastian Teuchel | Sebastian Teuchel | 1,472 | 5.6 | | 1,275 | 4.8 | 1.5 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 1,067 | 4.0 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 550 | | | 455 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 26,323 | | | 26,418 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,873 | 53.7 | 2.7 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 311 | 1.1 | 10.8 | | | |

### 2004 election

State election (2004): Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II :
| 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 Harald Stauch | Y Harald Stauch | 10,483 | 41.8 | 7.0 | 10,799 | 42.7 | 7.8 |
| | PDS | Roland Hahnemann | Roland Hahnemann | 7,499 | 29.9 | 7.7 | 6,705 | 26.5 | 5.1 |
| | SPD | Marko Wolfram | Marko Wolfram | 5,545 | 22.1 | 0.7 | 4,105 | 16.2 | 2.9 |
| | FDP | Eckhard Linke | Eckhard Linke | 1,567 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 889 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 2,814 | 11.1 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,289 | | | 1,071 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 25,094 | | | 25,312 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,383 | 51.0 | 8.3 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 2,984 | 11.9 | 14.1 | | | |

### 1999 election

State election (1999): Saalfeld-Rudolstadt II :
| 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 Harald Stauch | Y Harald Stauch | 15,005 | 48.8 | 9.8 | 15,607 | 50.5 | 9.8 |
| | SPD | Frieder Lippmann | Frieder Lippmann | 6,999 | 22.8 | 10.9 | 5,914 | 19.1 | 12.0 |
| | PDS | Roland Hahnemann | Roland Hahnemann | 6,823 | 22.2 | 6.5 | 6,601 | 21.4 | 4.8 |
| | REP | Roland Büschel | Roland Büschel | 856 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 288 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| | Greens | Jens Billig | Jens Billig | 621 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 452 | 1.5 | 3.1 |
| | FDP | Kay Rösler | Kay Rösler | 448 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 308 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 1,723 | 5.6 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 499 | | | 358 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 30,752 | | | 30,893 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,251 | 59.3 | 13.8 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 8,006 | 26.0 | 20.7 | | | |

### 1994 election

State election (1994): Schwarzakreis II :
| 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 | Harald Stauch | Harald Stauch | 14,832 | 39.0 | | 15,534 | 40.7 | |
| | SPD | | | 12,800 | 33.7 | | 11,869 | 31.1 | |
| | PDS | | | 5,979 | 15.7 | | 6,333 | 16.6 | |
| | Greens | | | 2,164 | 5.7 | | 1,747 | 4.6 | |
| | FDP | | | 1,528 | 4.0 | | 1,308 | 3.4 | |
| | REP | | | 695 | 1.8 | | 688 | 1.8 | |
| | List-only parties | | | | | | 725 | 1.9 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 907 | | | 701 | | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 37,998 | | | 38,204 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,905 | 73.1 | | | | |
| | CDU win new seat | CDU win new seat | Majority | 2,032 | 5.3 | | | | |