Christian Herrgott of the conservative CDU beat out far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate Uwe Thrum in a regional run-off election in the eastern German state of Thuringia on Sunday.

The vote was viewed by political observers as a barometer for the AfD's popularity at a time when damaging headlines may have dented its alarming nationwide momentum.

The vote was the first since Correctiv, an investigative journalism outfit, published a report outlining a November meeting in which AfD politicians and far-right extremists — including Austrian neo-Nazi Martin Sellner of the Identitarian Movement — discussed plans for the mass deportation of foreigners and unassimilated German citizens should they come to power.

The story sparked outrage and led to numerous rallies across the country in which more than one million people turned out to demonstrate against right-wing extremism and for democracy.

AfD candidate Thrum had led the race safely before the Correctiv report was released — he dominated the general election two weeks ago with 45.7% of the vote compared to Herrgott's 33.3% — but only gained 47.6% of the vote to Herrgott's 52.4% on Sunday.

Herrgott, the 39-year-old leader of the CDU state party in Thuringia, has been a state parliamentarian since 2014 and will take up his post as district administrator on February 9.

Election officials say some 69% of the Saale-Orla district's 66,000 registered voters cast ballots Sunday.

Further regional and EU elections are scheduled to take place this summer in Thuringia, which will also hold state elections in September.

The AfD enjoys strong support in Thuringia — currently with approval ratings well over 30% — as it does in several other eastern states. It has also been on the rise nationally, hovering around 20%.

Germany's domestic intelligence service has said that Thuringia's AfD and its outspoken leader Björn Höcke are "right-wing extremists" posing a threat to democracy. Both have been under surveillance for years.

js/lo (AFP, dpa)

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