title: Südpfalz
text: # Südpfalz
  
  Südpfalz 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 211. It is located in southern Rhineland-Palatinate, comprising the city of Landau and the districts of Germersheim and Südliche Weinstraße.
  
  Südpfalz was created for the 1965 federal election. Since 2021, it has been represented by Thomas Hitschler of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
  
  ## Geography
  
  Südpfalz is located in southern Rhineland-Palatinate. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the independent city of Landau and the districts of Germersheim and Südliche Weinstraße.
  
  ## History
  
  Südpfalz was created in 1965, then known as Landau. It acquired its current name in the 1987 election. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it was constituency 163 in the numbering system. In the 1980 through 1998 elections, it was number 161. In the 2002 election, it was number 214. In the 2005 election, it was number 213. In the 2009 and 2013 elections, it was number 212. Since the 2017 election, it has been number 211.
  
  Originally, the constituency comprised the city of Landau, and the districts of Landkreis Landau, Germersheim, and Bergzabern. In the 1972 and 1976 elections, it comprised the city of Landau, and the districts of Landau-Bad Bergzabern and Germersheim. It acquired its current borders in the 1980 election.
  
  | Election | No. | Name | Borders |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1965 | 163 | Landau | Landau city Landkreis Landau district Germersheim district Bergzabern district |
  | 1969 | 163 | Landau | Landau city Landkreis Landau district Germersheim district Bergzabern district |
  | 1972 | 163 | Landau | Landau city Landau-Bad Bergzabern district Germersheim district |
  | 1976 | 163 | Landau | Landau city Landau-Bad Bergzabern district Germersheim district |
  | 1980 | 161 | Landau | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 1983 | 161 | Landau | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 1987 | 161 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 1990 | 161 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 1994 | 161 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 1998 | 161 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 2002 | 214 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 2005 | 213 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 2009 | 212 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 2013 | 212 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 2017 | 211 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  | 2021 | 211 | Südpfalz | Landau city Germersheim district Südliche Weinstraße district |
  
  ## Members
  
  The constituency has been held by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) during all but one Bundestag term since its creation. It was first represented by Albert Leicht from 1965 to 1980. Heiner Geißler served from 1980 to 2002. Ralf Göbel was then representative from 2002 to 2009. Thomas Gebhart was elected in 2009, and re-elected in 2013 and 2017. Thomas Hitschler won the constituency for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 2021.
  
  | Election | Member | Party | % |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1965 | Albert Leicht | CDU | 51.9 |
  | 1969 | Albert Leicht | CDU | 52.0 |
  | 1972 | Albert Leicht | CDU | 49.3 |
  | 1976 | Albert Leicht | CDU | 53.5 |
  | 1980 | Heiner Geißler | CDU | 50.0 |
  | 1983 | Heiner Geißler | CDU | 55.7 |
  | 1987 | Heiner Geißler | CDU | 49.6 |
  | 1990 | Heiner Geißler | CDU | 49.6 |
  | 1994 | Heiner Geißler | CDU | 50.9 |
  | 1998 | Heiner Geißler | CDU | 47.1 |
  | 2002 | Ralf Göbel | CDU | 43.5 |
  | 2005 | Ralf Göbel | CDU | 43.2 |
  | 2009 | Thomas Gebhart | CDU | 40.7 |
  | 2013 | Thomas Gebhart | CDU | 48.8 |
  | 2017 | Thomas Gebhart | CDU | 40.3 |
  | 2021 | Thomas Hitschler | SPD | 28.2 |
  
  ## Election results
  
  ### 2021 election
  
  Federal election (2021): Südpfalz :
  
  | 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 | Thomas Hitschler | Thomas Hitschler | 47,901 | 28.2 | 2.2 | 47,028 | 27.7 | 5.8 |
  | | CDU | N Thomas Gebhart | N Thomas Gebhart | 47,860 | 28.2 | 12.1 | 39,421 | 23.2 | 11.6 |
  | | Greens | Tobias Lindner | Tobias Lindner | 19,058 | 11.2 | 3.3 | 22,882 | 13.5 | 4.8 |
  | | FDP | Volker Wissing | Volker Wissing | 17,011 | 10.0 | 4.0 | 21,120 | 12.4 | 2.1 |
  | | AfD | Bernd Schattner | Bernd Schattner | 16,658 | 9.8 | 2.5 | 17,702 | 10.4 | 3.2 |
  | | FW | Steffen Weiß | Steffen Weiß | 6,388 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 5,493 | 3.2 | 1.6 |
  | | Left | Tobias Schreiner | Tobias Schreiner | 5,222 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 5,598 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
  | | Tierschutzpartei | Bernd Kriebel | Bernd Kriebel | 3,019 | 1.8 | | 3,098 | 1.8 | |
  | | dieBasis | Jacqueline Sharma | Jacqueline Sharma | 2,388 | 1.4 | | 2,389 | 1.4 | |
  | | PARTEI | Lukas Rammefanger | Lukas Rammefanger | 1,923 | 1.1 | | 1,515 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
  | | Volt | Alexandra Barsuhn | Alexandra Barsuhn | 829 | 0.5 | | 779 | 0.5 | |
  | | Team Todenhöfer | | | | | | 665 | 0.4 | |
  | | Pirates | | | | | | 659 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
  | | ÖDP | Sven Leuthner | Sven Leuthner | 582 | 0.3 | | 471 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
  | | Independent | Erdal Koccu | Erdal Koccu | 362 | 0.2 | | | | |
  | | Independent | Cyrus Mobasheri | Cyrus Mobasheri | 225 | 0.1 | | | | |
  | | NPD | | | | | | 218 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
  | | Independent | Holger Volger | Holger Volger | 206 | 0.1 | | | | |
  | | V-Partei3 | | | | | | 194 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
  | | DiB | | | | | | 182 | 0.1 | |
  | | Humanists | | | | | | 151 | 0.1 | |
  | | LKR | | | | | | 73 | 0.0 | |
  | | MLPD | | | | | | 38 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,627 | | | 1,583 | | |
  | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 169,632 | | | 169,676 | | |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 171,259 | 78.9 | 0.3 | | | |
  | | SPD gain from CDU | SPD gain from CDU | Majority | 41 | 0.0 | | | | |
  
  ### 2017 election
  
  Federal election (2017): Südpfalz :
  
  | 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 Thomas Gebhart | Y Thomas Gebhart | 68,588 | 40.3 | 8.5 | 59,309 | 34.8 | 7.9 |
  | | SPD | Thomas Hitschler | Thomas Hitschler | 44,224 | 26.0 | 2.0 | 37,293 | 21.9 | 4.1 |
  | | AfD | Heiko Wildberg | Heiko Wildberg | 20,932 | 12.3 | | 23,191 | 13.6 | 8.7 |
  | | Greens | Tobias Lindner | Tobias Lindner | 13,500 | 7.9 | 0.8 | 14,788 | 8.7 | 0.2 |
  | | FDP | Mario Brandenburg | Mario Brandenburg | 10,209 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 17,560 | 10.3 | 4.1 |
  | | Left | Simon Georg Bludovsky | Simon Georg Bludovsky | 8,018 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 10,975 | 6.4 | 1.6 |
  | | FW | Bernd Ließfeld | Bernd Ließfeld | 4,540 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 2,814 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
  | | PARTEI | | | | | | 1,706 | 1.0 | |
  | | Pirates | | | | | | 796 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
  | | NPD | | | | | | 537 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
  | | V-Partei³ | | | | | | 520 | 0.3 | |
  | | ÖDP | | | | | | 462 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
  | | BGE | | | | | | 391 | 0.2 | |
  | | MLPD | | | | | | 65 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,358 | | | 1,962 | | |
  | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 170,011 | | | 170,407 | | |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 172,369 | 79.2 | 5.8 | | | |
  | | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 24,364 | 14.3 | 6.5 | | | |
  
  ### 2013 election
  
  Federal election (2013): Südpfalz :
  
  | 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 Thomas Gebhart | Y Thomas Gebhart | 75,748 | 48.8 | 8.2 | 66,523 | 42.7 | 8.4 |
  | | SPD | Thomas Hitschler | Thomas Hitschler | 43,385 | 28.0 | 0.2 | 40,537 | 26.0 | 3.3 |
  | | Greens | Tobias Lindner | Tobias Lindner | 11,064 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 13,172 | 8.5 | 1.8 |
  | | Left | Sebastian Frech | Sebastian Frech | 6,308 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 7,538 | 4.8 | 3.7 |
  | | FDP | Volker Wissing | Volker Wissing | 6,217 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 9,677 | 6.2 | 10.9 |
  | | AfD | | | | | | 7,584 | 4.9 | |
  | | Pirates | Kim Julia Orth | Kim Julia Orth | 4,608 | 3.0 | | 4,091 | 2.6 | 0.5 |
  | | FW | Franz Alois Pietruska | Franz Alois Pietruska | 3,159 | 2.0 | | 2,166 | 1.4 | |
  | | NPD | Klaus Armstroff | Klaus Armstroff | 2,082 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1,833 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
  | | REP | Frank Herbert Karl Köhler | Frank Herbert Karl Köhler | 1,605 | 1.0 | | 1,233 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
  | | ÖDP | Rüdiger John | Rüdiger John | 940 | 0.6 | | 660 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
  | | Party of Reason | | | | | | 410 | 0.3 | |
  | | PRO | | | | | | 349 | 0.2 | |
  | | MLPD | | | | | | 71 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,545 | | | 2,817 | | |
  | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 155,116 | | | 155,844 | | |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 158,661 | 73.4 | 0.5 | | | |
  | | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 32,363 | 20.8 | 7.8 | | | |
  
  ### 2009 election
  
  Federal election (2009): Südpfalz :
  
  | 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 | Thomas Gebhart | Thomas Gebhart | 61,994 | 40.7 | 2.6 | 52,517 | 34.3 | 2.9 |
  | | SPD | Heinz Schmitt | Heinz Schmitt | 42,287 | 27.7 | 9.9 | 34,790 | 22.7 | 9.9 |
  | | FDP | Volker Wissing | Volker Wissing | 19,431 | 12.7 | 6.5 | 26,201 | 17.1 | 5.0 |
  | | Greens | Tobias Lindner | Tobias Lindner | 12,637 | 8.3 | 3.5 | 15,635 | 10.2 | 2.3 |
  | | Left | Ernst Jakob Kuntz | Ernst Jakob Kuntz | 10,926 | 7.2 | 3.3 | 13,137 | 8.6 | 3.7 |
  | | Pirates | | | | | | 3,322 | 2.2 | |
  | | NPD | Karlheinz Pfirrmann | Karlheinz Pfirrmann | 3,230 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 2,272 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
  | | REP | | | | | | 1,980 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
  | | FAMILIE | | | | | | 1,889 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
  | | Independent | Edeltraud Dietert | Edeltraud Dietert | 1,197 | 0.8 | | | | |
  | | Independent | Wolfgang Berger | Wolfgang Berger | 728 | 0.5 | | | | |
  | | ÖDP | | | | | | 609 | 0.4 | |
  | | PBC | | | | | | 575 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
  | | DVU | | | | | | 134 | 0.1 | |
  | | MLPD | | | | | | 59 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,719 | | | 3,029 | | |
  | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | Total Valid votes | 152,430 | | | 153,120 | | |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 156,149 | 72.9 | 7.0 | | | |
  | | CDU hold | CDU hold | Majority | 19,707 | 13.0 | 7.3 | | | |
  