The 2023 Hessian state elections was held on Sunday October 8, to elect the 21st Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union and The Greens, led by Minister-President Boris Rhein of the CDU. The 2023 Bavarian state election was held the same day.
The result was a clear victory for the CDU, which took almost 35% of the vote on a swing of 7.6 percentage points. At 18%, the Alternative for Germany lifted its vote by over five points and became the second-largest party in a Western state for the first time. The Greens conversely lost five points, falling to fourth place on 15%, just behind the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) which suffered similar losses. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) narrowly passed the 5% electoral threshold with a 5.035% vote share. As of 2026, this is the last federal or state election where the FDP passed the threshold. Meanwhile, The Left fell to 3.1% and lost all their seats.
Overall, the incumbent coalition increased its majority, with a strengthened position for the leading CDU. The result, amidst a campaign dominated by federal issues such as immigration, was perceived as a blow for the federal government, with its three member parties – the SPD, Greens, and FDP – all suffering losses. The results also indicated the increasing popularity of the far-right AfD, which in previous months had moved into second place in federal opinion polling.
Election organization
Election date Article 79 of the Constitution of Hesse stipulates that the state parliament is elected for five years. The new election must take place before the end of the electoral period. According to Section 1 of the Hessian state election law, the election must take place on a Sunday or public holiday. The day of the election is determined by the state government by ordinance.
Since the 20th state parliament was constituted on January 18, 2019, Sunday, January 14, 2024, is the latest possible date for the election to the 21st Hessian state parliament.
On January 17, 2023, the Rhein cabinet decided to set October 8, 2023 as the election day. It follows the tradition that voting takes place in Hesse in the three months before the end of the electoral period. The Bavarian state election took place the same day.
Electoral system Parties and voter groups that have not been represented in the state parliament without interruption since the last state election need 1,000 signatures for their state list and 50 for their district election proposals.
The Landtag is elected using mixed-member proportional representation. Every voter has two votes, one for a candidate on the state list and one for a candidate in their constituency. The state list of a party is elected with the state vote that is decisive for the allocation of seats in the state parliament.
Parliament seats are calculated using the Hare-Niemeyer method.
Parties The following parties were represented in the previous Landtag of Hesse: NameIdeologyLeader(s)2018 resultVotes (%)SeatsCDUChristian Democratic Union of GermanyChristian democracyBoris Rhein27.0%GrüneAlliance 90/The GreensGreen politicsTarek Al-Wazir19.8%SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanySocial democracyNancy Faeser19.8% AfD Alternative for Germany German nationalismRight-wing populismRobert Lambrou 13.1% FDPFree Democratic PartyClassical liberalismStefan Naas7.5%LinkeThe LeftDemocratic socialismElisabeth KulaJan Schalauske6.3%
Opinion polling
Graphical summary
Party polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize CDU Grüne SPD AfD FDP Linke FW Others Lead 2023 state election – 34.6 14.8 15.1 18.4 5.0 3.1 3.5 5.5 16.1 Wahlkreisprognose 949 34.5 16.5 15.5 15.5 4.9 2.5 4.5 6.1 18.0 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 1,000 32 17 17 16 5 3 4 6 15 Wahlkreisprognose 1,002 33 16.5 16 16 5.5 3 4.5 5.5 16.5 INSA 1,000 31 16 16 16 5 4 5 7 15 Civey 2,900 31 18 16 15 6 4 – 10 13 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 1,041 32 17 17 16 5 3 4 6 15 Infratest dimap 1,515 31 17 16 15 6 4 4 7 14 Wahlkreisprognose 1,000 30.5 18 16 17.5 5 2.5 4 6.5 12.5 Civey 3,001 31 19 19 14 6 3 – 8 12 Wahlkreisprognose 1,200 30 17 20 17.5 5 2 4 4.5 10 INSA 1,000 29 19 20 15 6 3 4 4 9 Infratest dimap 1,170 31 17 18 17 5 3 3 6 13 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 1,107 30 19 19 16 6 3 – 7 11 Civey 3,002 29 20 18 16 6 3 – 8 9 Wahlkreisprognose 1,000 29 16 20 18 5.5 2 4.5 5 9 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 1,005 31 18 20 15 6 3 – 7 11 Civey 2,810 29 19 20 15 6 3 – 8 9 Wahlkreisprognose 18–23 Jul 2023 1,015 25.5 16 20 20 5 2 5.5 6 5.5 Wahlkreisprognose 1,400 26 18 20 19 5 2.5 3.5 6 6 INSA 1,000 29 18 22 13 7 4 3 4 7 Wahlkreisprognose 1,002 29 16 23.5 13 7 2 3 6.5 5.5 INSA 1,000 30 20 21 12 7 4 3 39 Wahlkreisprognose 1,398 28 18 24 12.5 7 2 3 5.5 4 Infratest dimap 7–11 Mar 2023 1,177 32 22 20 11 5 3 – 7 10Wahlkreisprognose3–7 Mar 20231,003 2921241161.534.55Wahlkreisprognose3–6 Feb 20231,521 262025127.51.52.55.51Wahlkreisprognose23–27 Dec 20221,150 2819251271.52.553Wahlkreisprognose25–27 Nov 20221,100 3019.522126.52358Wahlkreisprognose24–28 Oct 20221,082 28.5211813.573367.5 Infratest dimap 12–15 Oct 2022 1,161 27 22 22 12 6 3 – 8 5Wahlkreisprognose25–29 Sep 20221,000 30.5211514.574359.5Wahlkreisprognose25–30 Aug 20221,010 29.52615.5973.53.563.5Wahlkreisprognose7–12 Jul 20221,043 29.526.52076.52.53.54.53Wahlkreisprognose12–18 Jun 20221,200 322718763255 Wahlkreisprognose 29 Apr–4 May 2022 1,023 28 24.5 21 7 8 3.5 2 6 3.5 INSA 4–11 Apr 2022 1,000 24 19 24 10 8 5 3 7 Tie Wahlkreisprognose 3–10 Mar 2022 1,400 25 24 24 7 8 4 2.5 5.5 1 Infratest dimap 28 Feb–2 Mar 2022 1,169 27 20 24 7 9 5 – 8 3 Wahlkreisprognose 21–28 Jan 2022 1,102 25 19 26 9 8 6 3 4 1 Wahlkreisprognose 26 Nov–2 Dec 2021 1,000 21.5 18.5 24.5 9 13 5 3 5.5 3 INSA 11–19 Oct 2021 1,253 20 20 26 11 11 5 3 4 6 2021 federal election 26 Sep 2021 – 22.8 15.8 27.6 8.8 12.8 4.3 1.7 6.0 4.8 Wahlkreisprognose 5–11 May 2021 – 21.5 27 16 9.5 12 5 5 – 5.5 Infratest dimap 18–23 Feb 2021 1,001 32 21 17 10 7 6 – 7 11 Wahlkreisprognose 7–14 Dec 2020 – 32 21.5 18.5 12 6 6 – 4 10.5 Infratest dimap 1–7 Dec 2020 1,004 34 22 19 8 7 5 – 5 12 INSA 22–29 Oct 2020 1,018 30 19 18 11 6 9 – 7 11 Wahlkreisprognose 5–12 Sep 2020 – 31.5 22 16.5 13 5 8 – – 9.5 Wahlkreisprognose 10–16 July 2020 – 30 21.5 20.5 12 5 7 – – 8.5 Wahlkreisprognose 20–25 May 2020 – 36 20 20.5 9 5 5 – – 15.5 Infratest dimap 1,005 36 20 18 10 7 4 – 5 16 Wahlkreisprognose – 32 22 21 8 6.5 5 – – 10 Infratest dimap 1,000 26 25 16 12 7 8 – 6 1 INSA 2,000 26 23 16 13 8 9 3 2 3 2019 EP election – 25.8 23.4 18.4 9.9 6.4 4.4 1.7 10.0 2.4 Infratest dimap 1,001 27 21 19 13 9 6 – 5 6 2018 state election – 27.0 19.8 19.8 13.1 7.5 6.3 3.0 3.6 7.2
Minister-president polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize None/Unsure Lead CDU Grüne SPD AfD Infratest dimap 8 Oct 2023 – 38 23 15 – 24 15 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 50 30 – – 20 19 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 61 – 21 – 18 40 Wahlkreisprognose 949 38 17 14 14 17 21 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 4–5 Oct 2023 1,000 44 33 – – 23 11 55 – 24 – 21 31 Wahlkreisprognose 1,002 35 17 11 12 25 18 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 25–28 Sep 2023 1,041 44 31 – – 25 13 55 – 21 – 24 34 Infratest dimap 1,515 35 19 14 – 32 16 Wahlkreisprognose 1,000 33 18 13 11 25 15 Wahlkreisprognose 9–13 Sep 2023 1,200 31 16 16 10 27 15 40 – 24 – 36 16 Infratest dimap 1,170 33 21 17 – 29 12 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 4–7 Sep 2023 1,107 42 31 – – 27 11 50 – 26 – 24 24 Wahlkreisprognose 25–29 Aug 2023 1,000 30 15 21 12 22 9 32 – 27 – 41 5 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 21–23 Aug 2023 1,005 44 31 – – 25 13 50 – 28 – 22 22 Wahlkreisprognose 18–23 Jul 2023 1,015 28 15 20 7 30 8 31 – 28 – 41 3 Wahlkreisprognose 1,400 30 17 20 – 33 10 Wahlkreisprognose 1,002 37 19 23 – 21 14 Wahlkreisprognose 1,398 34 23 24 – 19 10 Infratest dimap 1,177 32 23 17 – 28 9 Wahlkreisprognose 1,003 34 23 25 – 18 9 Wahlkreisprognose 1,521 32 20 27 – 21 5 Wahlkreisprognose 1,150 32 20 25 – 23 7 Wahlkreisprognose 1,100 36 15 26 – 23 10 Wahlkreisprognose 1,082 37 19 24 – 20 13 Infratest dimap 1,161 30 21 17 – 32 9 Wahlkreisprognose 1,400 39 19 19 – 23 20 Wahlkreisprognose 1,010 36 24 20 – 20 12 Wahlkreisprognose 1,043 35 25 23 – 17 10 Wahlkreisprognose 1,123 41 30 17 – 12 11 Wahlkreisprognose 1,023 30 28 23 – 19 2 Wahlkreisprognose 1,400 26 28 22 – 24 2 Infratest dimap 1,169 26 23 20 – 31 3
Election result
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | Party ! colspan="3" | Constituency ! colspan="4" | Party list ! rowspan="2" | Totalseats ! rowspan="2" | +/- |- ! Votes ! % ! Seats ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Christian Democratic Union | 997,870 | 35.6 | 52 | 972,876 | 34.6 | +7.6 | 0 | 52 | 12 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Alternative for Germany | 490,894 | 17.5 | 0 | 518,763 | 18.4 | +5.3 | 28 | 28 | 9 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Social Democratic Party | 512,349 | 18.3 | 0 | 424,587 | 15.1 | -4.7 | 23 | 23 | 6 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Alliance 90/The Greens | 397,680 | 14.2 | 3 | 416,035 | 14.8 | -5.0 | 19 | 22 | 7 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Free Democratic Party | 137,318 | 4.9 | 0 | 141,644 | 5.0 | -2.5 | 8 | 8 | 3 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Free Voters | 131,108 | 4.7 | 0 | 98,283 | 3.5 | +0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | The Left | 90,520 | 3.2 | 0 | 86,842 | 3.1 | -3.2 | 0 | 0 | 9 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Human Environment Animal Protection Party | 5,181 | 0.2 | 0 | 43,341 | 1.5 | +0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Volt Germany | 13,729 | 0.5 | 0 | 27,612 | 1.0 | New | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Die PARTEI | 18,595 | 0.7 | 0 | 23,678 | 0.8 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Grassroots Democratic Party | 4,285 | 0.2 | 0 | 13,707 | 0.5 | New | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | V-Partei3 | 155 | 0.0 | 0 | 9,472 | 0.3 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Pirate Party Germany | 1,348 | 0.0 | 0 | 8,618 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Climate List Germany | 951 | 0.0 | 0 | 6,212 | 0.2 | New | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Ecological Democratic Party | colspan="3" | – | 5,906 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0
| align="left" | Action Citizens for Justice | 324 | 0.0 | 0 | 4,442 | 0.2 | New | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Party of Humanists | 878 | 0.0 | 0 | 4,262 | 0.2 | +0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | German Communist Party | 776 | 0.0 | 0 | 2,229 | 0.1 | New | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Anarchist Pogo Party | 91 | 0.0 | 0 | 1,929 | 0.1 | New | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Party for Rejuvenation Research | colspan="3" | – | 1,506 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0
| align="left" | The New Centre | colspan="3" | – | 1,369 | 0.0 | New | 0 | 0 | New
| align="left" | Resident Representatives | 880 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | Alliance C | 756 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | New
| align="left" | Practitioner Party | 421 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | New
| align="left" | Bürgerliste Weiterdenken | 187 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | New
| align="left" | Solidarity, Justice, Change | 162 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | New
| align="left" | Solibew | 124 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | New |- | bgcolor="" | | align="left" | MERA25 | 99 | 0.0 | 0 | colspan="3" | – | 0 | 0 | New |- class="sortbottom" ! colspan="2" | Total ! 2,806,681 ! 100.00 ! 55 ! 2,813,313 ! 100.00 ! ! 78 ! 133 ! 4 |- | colspan="2" align="center" | Invalid | 51,632 | 1.8 | | 45,000 | 1.6 | colspan="4" | |- ! colspan="2" | Turnout ! 2,858,313 ! 66.0 ! ! 2,858,313 ! 66.0 ! -1.3 ! colspan="4" | |- | colspan="2" align="center" | Registered voters | 4,332,235 | colspan="2" | | 4,332,235 | colspan="5" |
State government formation