7 candidates from far-right AfD party died in weeks leading up to local German elections
Seven candidates from the far-right German political party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) died in the weeks preceding the Sept. 14, 2025, local elections in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
According to several German-language news reports, there was no foul play involved in any of the deaths.
In August and September 2025, posts online claimed that over the course of two weeks, several members of the far-right German political party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) died in the weeks preceding the Sept. 14, 2025, local elections in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The claim was picked up by several English-language news outlets, including The New York Post and the BBC. It also spread on X, where some viewed the deaths as part of a grander conspiracy. For instance, AfD leader Alice Weidel shared an X post that called the deaths of just four candidates “statistically almost impossible.”
Snopes found that the claim was true — seven AfD candidates had died in the weeks leading up to the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia.
However, reputable German news outlets like Der Spiegel and Die Welt reported that there was no foul play involved in the deaths, citing both local police and AfD officials. Snopes translated the articles into English before reviewing them, and a Snopes writer who speaks German confirmed the translations were accurate.
On Sept. 2, 2025, Der Spiegel reported that four AfD candidates for local offices, Stefan Berendes, Wolfgang Seitz, Wolfgang Klinger and Ralph Lange, had died. The police found there was no evidence of foul play in the cases.
On the same day, Politico’s Berlin Playbook newsletter reported causes of death for three of the candidates, citing an AfD spokesperson. Lange and Klinger were “severely ill,” while Seitz had a heart attack. The newsletter also reported two additional deaths, reserve candidates René Herford and Patrick Tietze. Herford died of kidney failure, while Tietze committed suicide, according to the story.
On Sept. 3, 2025, Die Welt reported that the AfD had confirmed to Politico that a seventh candidate had died. Hans-Joachim Kind died “a natural death after a long illness,” according to the story. Kay Gottschalk, the deputy chairperson of the AfD for North Rhine-Westphalia, told Welt TV there was no evidence the deaths were “murder or the like.”
Both the Der Spiegel and Die Welt stories noted that candidates from other parties, including The Greens and the Social Democratic Party, had also died in the weeks leading up to the elections.
Sources
“AfD in Nordrhein-Westfalen bestätigt zwei weitere Todesfälle von Politikern vor Kommunalwahl.” Der Spiegel, 2 Sep. 2025. Politik. www.spiegel.de, https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-in-nordrhein-westfalen-bestaetigt-zwei-weitere-todesfaelle-von-politikern-vor-kommunalwahl-a-408b417a-f112-4a82-83f7-6b5d9c0072c6.
Curzon, Michael. Seventh AfD Candidate Dead in North Rhine-Westphalia Election Campaign. 3 Sep. 2025, https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/seventh-afd-candidate-dead-in-north-rhine-westphalia-election-campaign/.
Galvin, Shane. Six Candidates from Germany’s Right-Wing AfD Party Die Days Apart in Lead-up to Local Elections: Reports. 2 Sep. 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/09/02/world-news/six-candidates-from-germanys-rightwing-afd-party-die-days-apart-in-lead-up-to-local-elections-reports/.
Germany’s Far-Right AfD Suffers Series of Candidate Deaths Ahead of Local Vote. 2 Sep. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ykyewrerpo.
“Kommunalwahl in NRW: Zahl der verstorbenen AfD-Kandidaten steigt auf sieben – WELT.” DIE WELT, https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article68b815f046b61b4dcb0b7dac/kommunalwahl-in-nrw-zahl-der-verstorbenen-afd-kandidaten-steigt-auf-sieben.html. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
Landtag NRW: Information in English. https://www.landtag.nrw.de/home/besuch/information-in-english-1.html. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
More, Durva. “Tragedy Strikes Far-Right AfD as Six Candidates Die Ahead of German Local Election.” The Economic Times, 3 Sep. 2025. The Economic Times – The Times of India, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/tragedy-strikes-far-right-afd-as-six-candidates-die-ahead-of-german-local-election/articleshow/123681375.cms?from=mdr.
Neuman, Scott. “Germany’s Domestic Intelligence Labels Right-Wing AfD Party as Extremist.” NPR, 3 May 2025. World. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/g-s1-64037/afd-germany-extremist-alternative.
North Rhine–Westphalia | State in Germany, Industry, Economy, Culture | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Rhine-Westphalia. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
“Polizei reagiert auf Spekulationen: Keine Hinweise auf Fremdverschulden nach Tod von vier AfD-Kommunalpolitikern.” Der Spiegel, 2 Sep. 2025. Politik. www.spiegel.de, https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-politiker-in-nordrhein-westfalen-gestorben-keine-hinweise-auf-fremdverschulden-a-425c42de-4524-43d0-8c5b-662b46ffe6ce.
“Sechs tote AfDler und eine stille Verschwörung.” POLITICO, 2 Sep. 2025, https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/berlin-playbook/sechs-tote-afdler-und-eine-stille-verschworung/.
