In the 2026 mayoral election in Baden-Baden, eight candidates ran for the highest office in the spa town. The election became necessary because the previous Lord Mayor Dietmar Späth stepped down from office early. In the first round of voting on 8 March 2026, none of the candidates achieved an absolute majority, so a run-off followed. On 22 March 2026, the citizens of Baden-Baden elected the independent Thomas Jung as their new Lord Mayor with 57.3 percent of the vote. He prevailed against Lencke Wischhusen, who is also an independent.
Background and preparation of the election
The early election was prompted by the premature departure of Lord Mayor Dietmar Späth, who was retired on grounds of incapacity to serve after a good three years in office.[1] This left little time to prepare for the fresh election. The city scheduled the first round of voting for 8 March 2026, the same day as the state parliament election (Landtagswahl) in Baden-Württemberg, which was held statewide on that date as well. Tying the election to the state parliament election spared the city a separate polling day and was reflected in a turnout in the first round that was high for a mayoral election.
First round of voting
In the first round on 8 March 2026, most votes went to Thomas Jung, who led with 37.0 percent ahead of Lencke Wischhusen with 31.4 percent. Since no one received more than half of the valid votes, a run-off was required.[2]
Name | Votes | Share of votes |
|---|---|---|
8,549 | 37.0 % | |
Lencke Wischhusen | 7,262 | 31.4 % |
Alexander Arpaschi | 3,055 | 13.2 % |
Stefan Hertweck | 2,538 | 11.0 % |
Jürgen Rahner | 560 | 2.4 % |
Günther Tammert | 403 | 1.7 % |
Philippe Maisch | 342 | 1.5 % |
Marius Pana | 241 | 1.0 % |
Others | 183 | 0.8 % |
23,579 voters, or 56.6 % of the 41,679 eligible voters, cast their ballots. 446 votes were invalid.
Run-off election
In the run-off on 22 March 2026, the two front-runners from the first round faced each other. Thomas Jung won clearly with 57.3 percent of the vote, ahead of Lencke Wischhusen with 42.7 percent.[3]
Name | Votes | Share of votes |
|---|---|---|
9,940 | 57.3 % | |
Lencke Wischhusen | 7,406 | 42.7 % |
17,454 voters, or 41.9 % of the 41,667 eligible voters, cast their ballots. 108 votes were invalid. Turnout was thus considerably lower than in the first round, which had coincided with the state parliament election.
Taking office
On 27 April 2026, Thomas Jung was officially inaugurated into his office as Lord Mayor of Baden-Baden. Among his priorities he named consolidating the city’s strained finances as well as the areas of city-centre development, tourism and mobility.[4]
Web links
- State parliament election in Baden-Württemberg 2026 on wahlrecht.de – background on the state parliament election held at the same time
References
- ↑ OB-Wahl in Baden-Baden 2026: Die wichtigsten Infos, SWR Aktuell (accessed 13 June 2026) (Archived)
- ↑ Official final result of the first round of voting on 8 March 2026 on wahlergebnisse.komm.one (accessed 13 June 2026) (Archived)
- ↑ Official final result of the run-off on 22 March 2026 on wahlergebnisse.komm.one (accessed 13 June 2026) (Archived)
- ↑ Thomas Jung ist neuer Oberbürgermeister in Baden-Baden, SWR Aktuell (accessed 13 June 2026) (Archived)