State Election in North Rhine-Westphalia 2022

The study on the state election in North Rhine-Westphalia 2022 was conducted by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen. In the survey period 09.05.2022 to 12.05.2022, 1361 eligible voters in North Rhine-Westphalia were interviewed by telephone (CATI) on the following topics: assessment of parties and politicians on the state election and political issues. The respondents were selected by a multi-stage random sample.<br>Eligibility to vote in the state election in North Rhine-Westphalia; most important political issues in North Rhine-Westphalia; intention to vote in the state election; intended type of voting (polling station or postal vote); party preference (first and second vote); certainty of one´s own voting decision; importance of federal politics for one´s own voting decision at the state level; Interest in the state election; voting behaviour in the last state election; coalition preference; attitude towards a government of CDU and FDP, of CDU and Greens, of CDU, Greens and FDP, of SPD and Greens as well as towards a government of SPD, Greens and FDP; sympathy scalometer for selected parties at federal and state level; Satisfaction with the state government consisting of CDU and FDP, the individual parties CDU and FDP in the state government, the parties SPD, AfD and Greens in opposition in the state parliament as well as the federal government consisting of SPD, Greens and FDP (scalometer); knowledge of the top candidates of CDU and SPD for the office of prime minister; Sympathy scalometer for selected top politicians (Robert Habeck, Thomas Kutschaty, Friedrich Merz, Mona Neubaur, Olaf Scholz, Joachim Stamp and Hendrik Wüst); party liked best and second best; interest in politics; preference for Hendrik Wüst or Thomas Kutschaty as Minister President; comparison of credibility, sympathy, expertise and drive of the two top candidates Hendrik Wüst and Thomas Kutschaty; assessment of the economic situation of the federal state in general as well as in comparison with the other western German states; assessment of personal economic situation at present and in one year´s time; most competent party for solving the economic problems in the federal state; Split A: most competent party in the areas of school and education policy, transport policy, energy policy and social justice (end of Split A); Split B: Most competent party for better infrastructure in the areas of fast Internet, local public transport, medical care and shopping facilities to mitigate the effects of rising prices and for solving the problems on the housing market in North Rhine-Westphalia (end of Split B); opinion on the future viability of the federal state; most competent party for solving future problems in the federal state; assessment of the work of Minister President Hendrik Wüst; opinion on selected statements about North Rhine-Westphalia: Split A: North Rhine-Westphalia has now managed economic structural change well; too little is being done in North Rhine-Westphalia to combat rising rents (end of Split A); Split B: far too little is being done to promote the Ruhr region; there are major problems with gang crime in the major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia (end of Split B); CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz helpful or harmful for the CDU´s performance in the state election; German Chancellor Olaf Scholz helpful or harmful for the SPD´s performance in the state election; opinion on the planned phase-out of coal-fired power plants for electricity generation by 2030; assessment of the German government´s work on the war in Ukraine (Split B); North Rhine-Westphalia can cope with many war refugees from Ukraine (Split A); expected winner of the state election; preference for a state government consisting of the CDU and the Greens or the SPD, the Greens and the FDP; fair share of the standard of living; party most involved in scandals and affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Demography: sex; age (classified); highest school degree or degree attended; college degree; occupation; assessment of own job security; occupational status; elementary, middle, high, or managerial occupation; membership in elementary, middle, high, or managerial service; household size; number of persons in household aged 16 years or older; union member in household; religious denomination; churchgoing frequency; party affiliation; party identification; city size.

Additionally coded were: Questionnaire number; weighting factor.