- CDU leader Voigt experiences constituency loss
In the recent Thuringia state election, CDU's prime choice, Mario Voigt, failed to secure the direct vote in his district. He managed to acquire 37.4% of the initial votes in Saale-Holzland-Kreis II, which placed him behind AfD contender Wiebke Muhsal, who garnered 39.2% of the votes. Interestingly, during the 2019 state election, Voigt secured a direct seat in the state parliament. Previously, Muhsal served in the state parliament for their party from 2014 to 2019.
Serving as the head of the CDU faction in the Erfurt state parliament since 2020, and leading the state association since 2022, political scientist Voigt has been a parliamentary member since 2009. Throughout the past legislative term, Voigt's CDU often had a challenging time striking agreements with the red-red-green state government, particularly when drafting budget plans. Nonetheless, they successfully pushed through several projects in parliament, such as a tax reduction, with the AfD's support. During the campaign, Voigt demonstrated his differences with AfD leader Björn Höcke by publicly debating against him on television.
District Saale-Holzland-Kreis II
Despite his historical success in securing a direct seat during the 2019 state election, Mario Voigt, the CDU's district leader in Saale-Holzland-Kreis II, failed to do so in the recent Thuringia state election. The CDU, led by Voigt as the head of their Erfurt state parliament faction and state association, has faced challenges in striking agreements with the red-red-green state government.
