The political landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) saw significant changes following the runoff elections held on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Voters in nearly 150 municipalities decided on mayoral and district administrator posts in the second round of the municipal elections. The results confirmed key shifts in power, including the SPD's victory in Cologne and the CDU's surprising takeover in Dortmund.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) secured a key victory in Cologne, where Torsten Burmester won the mayoral runoff against Green candidate Berivan Aymaz. Burmester claimed 53.5 percent of the vote, while Aymaz received 46.5 percent, despite leading in the first round. Burmester succeeds outgoing independent mayor Henriette Reker, who had served since 2015 and did not run again.
In contrast, the SPD suffered a major setback in Dortmund, a city long considered its stronghold. For the first time since 1946, the Social Democrats lost the mayor’s office. CDU candidate Alexander Kalouti won with 52.9 percent, defeating incumbent SPD mayor Thomas Westphal, who finished with 47.1 percent.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) strengthened its position across North Rhine-Westphalia. In Düsseldorf, incumbent mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) was re-elected with a clear margin, securing 60.45 percent against Green challenger Clara Gerlach. Keller, who has led the city since 2020, will continue in office after defeating Gerlach, who gained 39.55 percent of the vote.
In Hagen, CDU candidate Dennis Rehbein won convincingly with 71.7 percent, defeating the AfD’s Michael Eiche, who collected 28.3 percent. Hagen’s previous independent mayor Erik Schulz did not seek re-election after two terms.
The CDU also scored a symbolic victory in Bonn, where Green incumbent Katja Dörner lost to CDU candidate Guido Déus. Additional gains were made in Aachen and Wuppertal, where the party reclaimed control from the Greens.
Despite setbacks, the SPD retained several important mayoral posts. In Duisburg, Sören Link (SPD) secured a landslide victory with 78.6 percent against AfD challenger Carsten Groß, who managed just 21.4 percent. Link, who has served as Duisburg’s mayor since 2012, benefited from broad support across party lines, including backing from the CDU, Greens, and FDP.
In Gelsenkirchen, SPD candidate Andrea Henze defeated AfD’s Norbert Emmerich with 66.9 percent of the vote. Henze previously served in the city administration overseeing labor, social affairs, health, and consumer protection. Gelsenkirchen, historically an SPD stronghold, remains under Social Democratic leadership despite economic challenges and high unemployment rates.
A significant milestone was reached in Münster, where Tilman Fuchs of the Greens won the mayoral runoff with 57.9 percent, defeating CDU’s Georg Lunemann, who took 42.1 percent. This marks the first time a Green candidate has ever become mayor of Münster, highlighting both regional shifts and the party’s enduring influence in select cities.
Runoffs across the Ruhr region saw candidates from established parties successfully fend off challengers from the AfD. In all three runoff elections where the AfD was represented, the party was decisively defeated:
Following the elections, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister-President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) declared his party to be the dominant local force, citing broad successes across cities and rural regions. Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn also celebrated the results, noting that the CDU had not performed so strongly since 1999. With victories in Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen, three of the five largest cities in the state are now led by CDU mayors.
SPD state leader Sarah Philipp described the night as one of “light and shadow.” She emphasized that the SPD remains competitive in North Rhine-Westphalia but acknowledged the loss of several long-held offices. Meanwhile, Green leaders Yazgülü Zeybek and Tim Achtermeyer highlighted their party’s resilience and successes, underscoring its role as a “reliable force” in both urban and rural communities.
Two weeks earlier, voters in all 427 municipalities of Germany’s most populous state had gone to the polls, with 13.7 million people eligible to vote. The results mark a reshaping of local politics in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the CDU strengthening its dominance, the SPD holding on to industrial heartlands, and the Greens achieving a historic milestone in Münster.
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