SPD Rhineland-Palatinate: Alexander Schweitzer nominated as top candidate!

SPD Rhineland-Palatinate: Alexander Schweitzer nominated as top candidate!

Today, on November 22, 2025, the Rhineland-Palatinate SPD presented its state list for the upcoming state elections four months before the election date. The list is headed by Prime Minister Alexander Schweitzer, who has secured the top candidacy, which is causing quite a stir in the political landscape of Rhineland-Palatinate. A total of 289 delegates in Mainz voted on 52 candidates, which shows that the grassroots support the selection. The green flag has already been raised for the next elections: "Ring. Knock. Win" - that's the motto of Schweitzer and his team, which focuses on directly addressing citizens in order to gain trust through personal conversations.

The deputy state party leader, Sabine Bätzing-Lichtenthäler, takes second place on the list and opened the state representative meeting, while state parliament president Hendrik Hering takes third place. Finance and Construction Minister Doris Ahnen follows in fourth place. This selection is remarkable: almost half of the candidates are women - 24 out of 52, which makes up over 46 percent. The average age of direct candidates is around 45 years, with eleven candidates being 35 years old or younger. Five of them are even under 30 years old, which underlines the breath of fresh air in the political landscape. [Tagesschau] reports that the list reflects the social breadth of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The election campaign begins

The election for the new state parliament in Rhineland-Palatinate is just around the corner: citizens have to cast their votes in less than eight months. Alexander Schweitzer, who took over the government from Malu Dreyer in July 2024, is seen as the SPD's favorite. Nevertheless, despite some polls showing the SPD behind the CDU, the Prime Minister is optimistic and hopes to benefit from his bonus in office. While the traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP is in the starting blocks, the CDU will also go to the polls under its top candidate Gordon Schnieder. For Schnieder, it will be his first election as a key player - a challenge that, despite leading the polls, still makes him largely unknown. [Volksfreund] reports on the challenges that the Union and the opposition parties have to face.

The Greens, led by Katrin Eder, have also focused on their core competencies in climate protection, but they have also had to overcome internal conflicts. On the other hand, we also see the AfD with Jan Bollinger as the top candidate, which focuses on issues such as “illegal mass immigration” and, according to surveys, has strong potential to double last year’s result. The FDP is also represented again by Daniela Schmitt and is under pressure while it had to assert itself against resistance within its own ranks. [SPD-RLP] emphasizes that the SPD sees these elections as an opportunity to bring renewal and a breath of fresh air.

Overall, the nominations and the broad spectrum of candidates show that the Rhineland-Palatinate SPD has a good knack for a diverse and broad list. It remains to be seen how the election campaign will develop and whether voter preferences will actually be as decisive as pollsters predict.