Scholz’s Social Dems seen winning election in German state

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Exit polls indicate that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats are headed for a clear election win in a western state that its conservative rivals have led since 1999. Sunday’s election was the first test at the ballot box since Scholz’s national government took office in December. Social Democrat Anke Rehlinger was on course to become the new governor of Saarland, a region on the French border that is one of Germany’s smallest states, with nearly 1 million people. Exit polls for ARD and ZDF television after Sunday’s election for the state legislature put support for the Social Democrats at 43-44%, well ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union’s support of 27.5%.