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German state election offers 1st test since Scholz took over

Barbara Spaniol, lead candidate of Die Linke for the state parliamentary elections in Saarland, casts her vote in Homburg, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP)

Angelika Hiesserich-Peter, the lead candidate of the FDP for the state parliamentary elections in Saarland, casts her vote in Weiten, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)

German politician Anke Rehlinger, SPD's top candidate, casts her vote for the state election in Nunkirchen, Saarland, Germany, Sunday, March 27, 2022. T he western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

Guests at the SPD Social Democrat Party election party for the state elections in Saarland celebrate to the first projections, in Saarbrucken, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. 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. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Guests at the SPD Social Democrat Party election party for the state elections in Saarland celebrate to the first projections, in Saarbrucken, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. 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. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Anke Rehlinger, SPD top candidate, deputy prime minister of Saarland and deputy federal SPD chairwoman, is on stage at the SPD election party for the state elections in Saarland, Germany, Sunday, March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

Anke Rehlinger, SPD top candidate, deputy prime minister of Saarland and deputy federal SPD chairwoman, is on stage at the SPD election party for the state elections in Saarland, Germany, Sunday, March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel.Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa/dpa via AP)

German politician Anke Rehlinger, SPD's top candidate, speaks to the media at a polling station in Nunkirchen, Saarland, Germany, Sunday, March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

German politician Anke Rehlinger, SPD's top candidate, casts her vote for the state election in Nunkirchen, Saarland, Germany, Sunday, March 27, 2022. T he western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

Angelika Hiesserich-Peter, the lead candidate of the FDP for the state parliamentary elections in Saarland, casts her vote in Weiten, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)

Angelika Hiesserich-Peter, the lead candidate of the FDP for the state parliamentary elections in Saarland, casts her vote in Weiten, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)

Barbara Spaniol, lead candidate of Die Linke for the state parliamentary elections in Saarland, casts her vote in Homburg, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP)

Guests at the SPD Social Democrat Party election party for the state elections in Saarland celebrate to the first projections, in Saarbrucken, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. 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. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Guests at the SPD Social Democrat Party election party for the state elections in Saarland celebrate to the first projections, in Saarbrucken, Germany, Sunday March 27, 2022. 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. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

German politician Anke Rehlinger, SPD's top candidate, speaks to the media at a polling station in Nunkirchen, Saarland, Germany, Sunday, March 27, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election that offers the country’s first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz comments on the Russian attack on Ukraine during a press conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb.22, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election Sunday, March 27, 2022 that offers the country's first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz's national government took office in December.(Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

FILE - US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the Munich Security Conference, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Munich. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election Sunday, March 27, 2022 that offers the country's first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz's national government took office in December. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, FIle)

FILE - Christian Democratic Party (CDU) Chairman Friedrich Merz speaks at a news conference at the party's headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 31, 2022. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election Sunday, March 27, 2022 that offers the country's first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz's national government took office in December. The CDU's new national leader, Friedrich Merz, is downplaying the significance of a potential defeat, pointing to local factors. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Saarland top candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SPD, Anke Rehlinger, comments the results of yesterday's state election in Saarland at the party's headquarters in Berlin, Monday, March 27, 2017. The western German state of Saarland is holding a state election Sunday, March 27, 2022 that offers the country's first test at the ballot box since Chancellor Olaf Scholz's national government took office in December. Polls point to a solid lead for Scholz's center-left Social Democrats in a region led since 1999 by the center-right Christian Democratic Union of Scholz's predecessor, Angela Merkel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

German state election offers 1st test since Scholz took over