Rhein-Neckar is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 277. It is located in northwestern Baden-Württemberg, comprising most of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district.
Rhein-Neckar was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Whilst the Christian Democratic Union won a plurality in the 2025 election, under the new voting system, their candidate did not actually win a seat in the Bundestag. This was due to the distribution of seats won by the CDU being decided by the first (direct) vote percentage of each winning CDU candidate, determining who took the seats. As the CDU candidate got a low vote of 34.4%, the seat will remain vacant throughout the 21st Bundestag.
Geography Rhein-Neckar is located in northwestern Baden-Württemberg. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district excluding the municipalities of Dossenheim, Edingen-Neckarhausen, Eppelheim, Heddesheim, Hemsbach, Hirschberg an der Bergstraße, Ilvesheim, Ladenburg, Laudenbach, Schriesheim, Weinheim, Altlußheim, Brühl, Hockenheim, Ketsch, Neulußheim, Oftersheim, Plankstadt, Reilingen, and Schwetzingen.
History Rhein-Neckar was created in 1949, then known as Sinsheim. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it was named Heidelberg-Land – Sinsheim. It acquired its current name in the 1980 election. In the 1949 election, it was Württemberg-Baden Landesbezirk Baden constituency 7 in the number system. In the 1953 through 1961 elections, it was number 181. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it was number 184. In the 1980 through 1998 elections, it was number 182. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was number 278. Since the 2009 election, it has been number 277.
Originally, the constituency comprised the district of Mosbach as well as the Sinsheim district excluding the municipalities of Kürnbach, Mühlbach, Sulzfeld, and Zaisenhausen. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it comprised the district of Sinsheim as well as the Landkreis Heidelberg district excluding the municipality of Eppelheim. It acquired its current borders in the 1980 election.
Election Name Borders 1949 Sinsheim Mosbach district Sinsheim district (excluding Kürnbach, Mühlbach, Sulzfeld, and Zaisenhausen municipalities) 1953 181 1957 1961 1965 184 Heidelberg-Land – Sinsheim Sinsheim district Landkreis Heidelberg district (excluding Eppelheim municipality) 1969 1972 1976 1980 182 Rhein-Neckar Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district (excluding Dossenheim, Edingen-Neckarhausen, Eppelheim, Heddesheim, Hemsbach, Hirschberg an der Bergstraße, Ilvesheim, Ladenburg, Laudenbach, Schriesheim, Weinheim, Altlußheim, Brühl, Hockenheim, Ketsch, Neulußheim, Oftersheim, Plankstadt, Reilingen, and Schwetzingen municipalities) 1983 1987 1990 1994 1998 2002 278 2005 2009 277 2013 2017 2021 2025
Members The constituency has been held continuously by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since its creation. It was first represented by Eugen Leibfried from 1949 to 1957, followed by Fritz Baier from 1957 to 1976. Alfred Hubertus Neuhaus served from 1976 to 1983. Bernd Schmidbauer was representative from 1983 to 2009, a total of seven consecutive terms. Stephan Harbarth was elected in 2009, and re-elected in 2013 and 2017. He resigned in November 2018 after being elected to the Federal Constitutional Court. He was succeeded by Moritz Oppelt in the 2021 federal election. The seat has been vacant since the 2025 election.
Election Member Party % 1949 Eugen Leibfried CDU 37.8 1953 48.5 1957 Fritz Baier CDU 50.8 1961 48.8 1965 54.4 1969 52.4 1972 51.4 1976 Alfred Hubertus Neuhaus CDU 53.2 1980 50.3 1983 Bernd Schmidbauer CDU 55.5 1987 50.0 1990 49.2 1994 49.3 1998 44.2 2002 46.5 2005 47.4 2009 Stephan Harbarth CDU 42.3 2013 49.7 2017 37.4 2021 Moritz Oppelt CDU 28.5 2025Vacant
Election results 2025 election Under the new voting system implemented for the 2025 election, although the CDU candidate won the most votes in this constituency, due to the low winning percentage, the constituency seat will remain vacant as not enough second (party) votes were won to be allocated this seat.
2021 election
2017 election
2013 election
2009 election
2005 election
Notes
References