Saarbrücken (electoral district)
# Saarbrücken (electoral district)

Saarbrücken 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 296. It is located in southern Saarland, comprising most of the district of Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district.

Saarbrücken was created for the inaugural 1957 federal election after the accession of Saarland to Germany. Since 2017, it has been represented by Josephine Ortleb of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

## Geography

Saarbrücken is located in southern Saarland. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the municipalities of Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen from the Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district.

## History

Saarbrücken was created in 1957, then known as Saarbrücken-Stadt. In the 1976 through 1998 elections, it was named Saarbrücken I. It acquired its current name in the 2002 election. In the 1957 and 1961 elections, it was constituency 243 in the numbering system. In the 1965 through 1998 elections, it was number 244. Since the 2002 election, it has been number 296.

Originally, the constituency comprised the independent city of Saarbrücken as well as the municipalities of Dudweiler and the Ämter of Brebach, Kleinblittersdorf, and Riegelsberg from the Landkreis Saarbrücken district. In the 1976 through 1998 elections, it comprised the municipalities of Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf from the Saarbrücken district. It acquired its current borders in the 2002 election.

| Election | No. | Name | Borders |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1957 | 243 | Saarbrücken-Stadt | Saarbrücken city Landkreis Saarbrücken district (only Dudweiler municipality and Brebach, Kleinblittersdorf, and Riegelsberg Ämter) |
| 1961 | 243 | Saarbrücken-Stadt | Saarbrücken city Landkreis Saarbrücken district (only Dudweiler municipality and Brebach, Kleinblittersdorf, and Riegelsberg Ämter) |
| 1965 | 244 | Saarbrücken-Stadt | Saarbrücken city Landkreis Saarbrücken district (only Dudweiler municipality and Brebach, Kleinblittersdorf, and Riegelsberg Ämter) |
| 1969 | 244 | Saarbrücken-Stadt | Saarbrücken city Landkreis Saarbrücken district (only Dudweiler municipality and Brebach, Kleinblittersdorf, and Riegelsberg Ämter) |
| 1972 | 244 | Saarbrücken-Stadt | Saarbrücken city Landkreis Saarbrücken district (only Dudweiler municipality and Brebach, Kleinblittersdorf, and Riegelsberg Ämter) |
| 1976 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 1980 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 1983 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 1987 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 1990 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 1994 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 1998 | 244 | Saarbrücken I | Saarbrücken district (only Saarbrücken and Kleinblittersdorf municipalities) |
| 2002 | 296 | Saarbrücken | Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district (only Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen municipalities) |
| 2005 | 296 | Saarbrücken | Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district (only Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen municipalities) |
| 2009 | 296 | Saarbrücken | Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district (only Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen municipalities) |
| 2013 | 296 | Saarbrücken | Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district (only Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen municipalities) |
| 2017 | 296 | Saarbrücken | Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district (only Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen municipalities) |
| 2021 | 296 | Saarbrücken | Regionalverbrand Saarbrücken district (only Großrosseln, Kleinblittersdorf, Püttlingen, Riegelsberg, Saarbrücken, and Völklingen municipalities) |

## Members

The constituency has been held by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during all but four Bundestag terms since its creation. It was first represented by Heinrich Schneider of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 1957 to 1961, followed by Eugen Huthmacher of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1961 to 1965. Rudolf Hussong of the SPD won it in 1965 and served one term before being succeeded by Günter Slotta from 1969 to 1976. Hajo Hoffmann was representative from 1976 to 1987, followed by Margit Conrad from 1987 to 1990. Oskar Lafontaine was elected in 1990, but did not accept his mandate at that time; he was re-elected in 1994 and 1998. Elke Ferner was representative from 2002 to 2009, when the constituency was won by Anette Hübinger of the CDU. She was re-elected in 2013. Josephine Ortleb regained the constituency for the SPD in 2017.

| Election | Member | Party | % |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1957 | Heinrich Schneider | FDP | 32.3 |
| 1961 | Eugen Huthmacher | CDU | 38.6 |
| 1965 | Rudolf Hussong | SPD | 42.0 |
| 1969 | Günter Slotta | SPD | 47.0 |
| 1972 | Günter Slotta | SPD | 54.9 |
| 1976 | Hajo Hoffmann | SPD | 48.8 |
| 1980 | Hajo Hoffmann | SPD | 53.4 |
| 1983 | Hajo Hoffmann | SPD | 49.8 |
| 1987 | Margit Conrad | SPD | 47.7 |
| 1990 | Oskar Lafontaine | SPD | 55.5 |
| 1994 | Oskar Lafontaine | SPD | 51.9 |
| 1998 | Oskar Lafontaine | SPD | 56.4 |
| 2002 | Elke Ferner | SPD | 51.8 |
| 2005 | Elke Ferner | SPD | 33.5 |
| 2009 | Anette Hübinger | CDU | 31.8 |
| 2013 | Anette Hübinger | CDU | 36.9 |
| 2017 | Josephine Ortleb | SPD | 32.1 |
| 2021 | Josephine Ortleb | SPD | 36.9 |

## Election results

### 2021 election

Federal election (2021): Saarbrücken :

| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | SPD | Y Josephine Ortleb | Y Josephine Ortleb | 51,749 | 36.9 | 4.7 | 53,537 | 38.1 | 11.8 |
| | CDU | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | 35,252 | 25.1 | 6.3 | 28,797 | 20.5 | 8.0 |
| | AfD | Boris Huebner | Boris Huebner | 12,569 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 13,006 | 9.3 | 0.4 |
| | FDP | Helmut Isringhaus | Helmut Isringhaus | 11,647 | 8.3 | 3.0 | 16,438 | 11.7 | 3.6 |
| | Green | Gerhard Wenz | Gerhard Wenz | 11,143 | 7.9 | 1.9 | | | |
| | Left | Mark Baumeister | Mark Baumeister | 8,711 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 13,484 | 9.6 | 5.3 |
| | Tierschutzpartei | | | | | | 3,843 | 2.7 | |
| | PARTEI | Lukas Matheis | Lukas Matheis | 3,439 | 2.4 | | 2,764 | 2.0 | 0.4 |
| | FW | Hans Peter Pflug | Hans Peter Pflug | 2,604 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 2,191 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| | dieBasis | Steffi Richter | Steffi Richter | 2,179 | 1.5 | | 1,923 | 1.4 | |
| | Volt | | | | | | 1,525 | 1.1 | |
| | Pirates | | | | | | 1,009 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| | Team Todenhöfer | | | | | | 748 | 0.5 | |
| | ÖDP | Nico Herrmann | Nico Herrmann | 605 | 0.4 | | 698 | 0.5 | |
| | NPD | | | | | | 370 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| | Independent | Stephan Poss | Stephan Poss | 299 | 0.2 | | | | |
| | MLPD | Rolf Tickert | Rolf Tickert | 201 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 141 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,299 | | | 2,223 | | |
| Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 140,398 | | | 140,474 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 142,697 | 74.0 | 0.1 | | | |
| | SPD hold | SPD hold | Majority | 16,497 | 11.8 | 11.0 | | | |

### 2017 election

Federal election (2017): Saarbrücken :

| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | SPD | Josephine Ortleb | Josephine Ortleb | 46,688 | 32.1 | 4.0 | 38,322 | 26.4 | 4.7 |
| | CDU | Bernd Wegner | Bernd Wegner | 45,664 | 31.4 | 5.5 | 41,394 | 28.5 | 4.9 |
| | Left | Gabriele Ungers | Gabriele Ungers | 19,262 | 13.3 | 2.3 | 21,669 | 14.9 | 3.2 |
| | AfD | Wilhelm Müller | Wilhelm Müller | 12,950 | 8.9 | 4.8 | 14,042 | 9.7 | 4.9 |
| | Greens | Patrick Ginsbach | Patrick Ginsbach | 8,782 | 6.0 | 0.7 | 11,748 | 8.1 | 0.2 |
| | FDP | Roland König | Roland König | 7,672 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 11,753 | 8.1 | 4.6 |
| | PARTEI | | | | | | 2,332 | 1.6 | |
| | FW | Friedemann Klein | Friedemann Klein | 1,592 | 1.1 | | 1,048 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| | Pirates | Klaus Schummer | Klaus Schummer | 1,386 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 842 | 0.6 | 2.4 |
| | NPD | Frank Franz | Frank Franz | 947 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 933 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| | V-Partei³ | | | | | | 453 | 0.3 | |
| | BGE | | | | | | 416 | 0.3 | |
| | DM | | | | | | 226 | 0.2 | |
| | MLPD | Rolf Tickert | Rolf Tickert | 355 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 165 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| | PDV | | | | | | 87 | 0.1 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,304 | | | 2,172 | | |
| Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 145,298 | | | 145,430 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 147,602 | 73.8 | 4.3 | | | |
| | SPD gain from CDU | SPD gain from CDU | Majority | 1,024 | 0.7 | | | | |

### 2013 election

Federal election (2013): Saarbrücken :

| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Y Anette Hübinger | Y Anette Hübinger | 51,324 | 36.9 | 5.1 | 46,513 | 33.4 | 6.9 |
| | SPD | Elke Ferner | Elke Ferner | 50,286 | 36.2 | 5.8 | 43,329 | 31.1 | 7.2 |
| | Left | Claudia Kohde-Kilsch | Claudia Kohde-Kilsch | 15,202 | 10.9 | 11.2 | 16,268 | 11.7 | 12.3 |
| | Greens | Barbara Meyer | Barbara Meyer | 7,422 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 10,910 | 7.8 | 0.9 |
| | AfD | Rudolf Müller | Rudolf Müller | 5,686 | 4.1 | | 6,575 | 4.7 | |
| | Pirates | Marc Großjean | Marc Großjean | 3,904 | 2.8 | | 4,110 | 2.9 | 1.2 |
| | NPD | Peter Marx | Peter Marx | 2,550 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2,582 | 1.9 | 0.7 |
| | FDP | Roland König | Roland König | 2,410 | 1.7 | 5.6 | 6,246 | 4.5 | 7.7 |
| | FAMILIE | | | | | | 1,560 | 1.1 | 0.0 |
| | FW | | | | | | 849 | 0.6 | |
| | PRO | | | | | | 233 | 0.2 | |
| | MLPD | Dietrich Schwang | Dietrich Schwang | 267 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 160 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,349 | | | 3,065 | | |
| Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 139,051 | | | 139,335 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 142,400 | 69.5 | 1.3 | | | |
| | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 1,038 | 0.7 | 0.7 | | | |

### 2009 election

Federal election (2009): Saarbrücken :

| Notes: | Notes: | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. | Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% |
| | CDU | Anette Hübinger | Anette Hübinger | 45,748 | 31.8 | 2.0 | 38,317 | 26.5 | 0.0 |
| | SPD | N Elke Ferner | N Elke Ferner | 43,737 | 30.4 | 3.2 | 34,528 | 23.9 | 8.5 |
| | Left | Volker Schneider | Volker Schneider | 31,946 | 22.2 | 4.0 | 34,666 | 24.0 | 3.1 |
| | FDP | Roland König | Roland König | 10,597 | 7.4 | 4.0 | 17,651 | 12.2 | 4.3 |
| | Greens | Karin Burkart | Karin Burkart | 9,696 | 6.7 | 3.2 | 12,685 | 8.8 | 0.9 |
| | Pirates | | | | | | 2,536 | 1.8 | |
| | NPD | Peter Marx | Peter Marx | 1,967 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1,737 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| | FAMILIE | | | | | | 1,596 | 1.1 | 0.5 |
| | RRP | | | | | | 752 | 0.5 | |
| | MLPD | Reiner Aulenbacher | Reiner Aulenbacher | 323 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 112 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,699 | | | 2,133 | | |
| Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 144,014 | | | 144,580 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 146,713 | 70.8 | 6.1 | | | |
| | CDU gain from SPD | CDU gain from SPD | Majority | 2,011 | 1.4 | | | | |
