The nationalist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD party has performed strongly in the region where Chancellor Angela Merkel has her political base, according to the Associated Press.
AfD has won about 21 percent of votes in the Sunday voting for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to projections for ARD and ZDF television based on exit polls and partial counting. They put support for Merkel's Christian Democrats at between 19 and 20 percent, which would be their worst result yet in the state. The center-left Social Democrats, who lead the outgoing state government, were expected to be the strongest party with about 30 percent support.