Six candidates for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) have died within weeks of each other ahead of crucial local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, prompting police investigations and forcing authorities to reprint thousands of ballots.
Police have made clear there is no evidence of foul play in any of the deaths, but the extraordinary cluster has triggered a wave of conspiracy theories on social media that AfD leaders have done little to quash.
The deaths include four direct candidates – Ralph Lange, 66; Wolfgang Klinger, 71; Stefan Berendes, 59; and Wolfgang Seitz, 59 – plus two reserve list candidates, René Herford and Patrick Tietze, all dying between mid-August and early September.
‘Statistically Almost Impossible’
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel made no effort to quash speculation when she reposted a claim by retired economist Stefan Homburg that the number of candidates’ deaths was “statistically almost impossible.”
Homburg’s post on X, which received over one million views, stated: “According to WDR, four AfD candidates who were not excluded have died immediately before the NRW municipal election: Blomberg, Rheinberg, Schwerte, Bad Lippspringe. Statistically almost impossible.”
The comment was later amplified by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has repeatedly expressed support for the AfD and drawn criticism from Western media for weighing in on German politics.
Musk’s Stark Warning
Just days after the deaths emerged, Musk issued a stark warning about Germany’s future, posting on X: “Either Germany votes AfD, or it is the end of Germany.”
The Tesla CEO made the comment while reacting to news that in Cologne, all parties except AfD had agreed to highlight only the positive aspects of migration from the developing world during the campaign.
Musk was echoing remarks he made in 2024 and early 2025 that fueled outrage from corporate media outlets.
Police Find Natural Causes
Despite the unusual circumstances, German police have not launched criminal investigations into any of the deaths. An AfD spokesperson in North Rhine-Westphalia told Politico that Ralph Lange and Wolfgang Klinger had serious pre-existing health conditions.
Wolfgang Seitz also had pre-existing conditions and suffered a heart attack, while Stefan Berendes died of natural causes, according to party officials.
René Herford had a pre-existing liver condition and died of kidney failure, whilst Patrick Tietze committed suicide, the spokesperson confirmed.
Police told Germany’s DPA news agency that the four initial deaths were either from natural causes or the cause was not being divulged for reasons of family privacy.
Party Leaders Urge Caution
However, asked about the rumours in his party, the AfD’s number two figure in North Rhine-Westphalia, Kay Gottschalk, acknowledged on Tuesday that “what I have in front of me – but that’s just partial information – that doesn’t back up these suspicions at the moment.”
He told Politico’s Berlin Playbook Podcast that his party wanted the cases to be investigated “without immediately getting into conspiracy-theory territory.”
Gottschalk said they had to tread carefully with the families concerned as they had lost a family member.
Election Chaos
The deaths have created administrative chaos ahead of the 14 September local elections in Germany’s most populous state, home to 18 million people and the industrial heartland of the Ruhr valley.
Due to the deaths, ballot papers have to be reprinted and successors appointed, with several mail-in ballots now invalid. Polling cards and postal ballot documents already sent out have been automatically rendered invalid.
In Blomberg, where Ralph Lange was the direct candidate for the city council, the election will now proceed as a by-election on the planned date of 14 September.
Some voters had already sent in mail-in ballots. These ballots will no longer be valid and they must vote again, creating significant logistical challenges for election officials.
Other Parties Also Affected
North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior ministry has pointed out that candidates from other parties, including the Greens and Social Democrats, have also died during the campaign period.
This broader context has been cited by officials attempting to calm speculation about the AfD deaths being anything other than tragic coincidences.
AfD’s Rising Influence
The AfD became Germany’s second biggest party in February’s federal elections, spreading from its eastern heartland to areas of the west too.
AfD currently leads Germany’s governing Christian Democratic Union by two percentage points in national polling, making it the largest political party in the country, according to recent surveys.
In North Rhine-Westphalia specifically, the AfD polled just 5.4% in the last state elections in May 2022. However, the party achieved 16.8% in the state in federal elections last February and polls suggest the party could almost match those numbers in the upcoming local elections.
Extremist Classification
The domestic spy agency classified the AfD as a right-wing extremist organisation in May, before placing a pause on that description due to an appeal pending in court.
In three eastern states, its AfD associations are still listed as extremist by security services.
The party has found support among several leading US figures on the right who have accused the German government of trying to suppress the AfD through bureaucracy.
First Test Since New Government
AfD strategists are hoping for gains in North Rhine-Westphalia’s local elections, which are seen as the first test of voters since the new federal government came to power.
The party was not expected to be competitive in the regional September elections initially, but has made significant progress since the last state elections in 2022.
A reported 20,000 candidates will run for office across North Rhine-Westphalia’s municipalities in what is shaping up to be a closely watched electoral contest.
Given Germany’s polarised political environment, AfD supporters say they are deeply concerned about the safety of their candidates heading into September’s elections, despite police assurances about the natural causes of the deaths.
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Image Credit:
Photomontage of Alice Weidel & Tino Chrupalla, the leadership of Alternative for Germany, in 2021 — image created by CeltBrowne, made on 27 September 2021. Licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)].
