121 Recklinghausen I
Electoral district for the Bundestag
Recklinghausen I in 2013
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Population	214,100 (2019)
Electorate	165,193 (2021)
Major settlements	Recklinghausen Castrop-Rauxel
Area	165.3 km2
Current electoral district
Created	1949
Party	SPD
Member	Frank Schwabe
Elected	2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021

Recklinghausen I is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 121. It is located in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia, comprising the southeastern part of the Recklinghausen district.^[1]

Recklinghausen I was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2005, it has been represented by Frank Schwabe of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).^[2]

Geography

Recklinghausen I is located in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the municipalities of Castrop-Rauxel, Recklinghausen, and Waltrop from the Recklinghausen district.^[1]

History

Recklinghausen I was created in 1949, then known as Recklinghausen-Stadt. It acquired its current name in the 1980 West German federal election.

In the 1949 election, it was North Rhine-Westphalia constituency 42 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 101. From 1965 through 1976, it was number 100. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 91. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 122. Since 2013, it has been number 121.

Originally, the constituency comprised only the city of Recklinghausen. From 1965 through 1976, it comprised the independent city of Recklinghausen and the municipalities of Waltrop, Henrichenburg, Datteln, Oer-Erkenschwick, and Haltern from the Recklinghausen district. It acquired its current borders in the 1980 election.

Members

The constituency has been held by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during all but three Bundestag terms since 1949. It was first represented by Bernhard Winkelheide of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1949 to 1961. Heinrich Auge of the SPD was elected in 1961 and served two terms, followed by Erich Wolfram from 1969 to 1987. Heinz-Werner Meyer served a single term from 1987 to 1990. He was succeeded by Jochen Welt from 1990 to 2005. Frank Schwabe was elected in 2005, and re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Election results

2021 election

Federal election (2021): Recklinghausen I[3]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	SPD	Y Frank Schwabe		49,437	41.0	2.4	42,552	35.2	3.7
	CDU	Michael Breilmann		30,845	25.6	5.3	27,988	23.2	5.4
	Greens	Nils Stennei		12,833	10.6	5.7	15,180	12.6	6.8
	AfD	Lutz Wagner		11,087	9.2	2.2	10,927	9.1	3.0
	FDP	Marlies Greve		8,481	7.0	0.2	11,989	9.9	0.4
	Left	Uwe Biletzke		3,605	3.0	3.6	4,239	3.5	3.8
	Tierschutzpartei						1,961	1.6	0.8
	PARTEI	Carsten Majewski		2,722	2.3		1,526	1.3	0.3
	dieBasis	Marcus Puller		1,282	1.1		966	0.8
	Team Todenhöfer						913	0.8
	FW						594	0.5	0.2
	Pirates						473	0.4	0.0
	Volt						242	0.2
	LIEBE						170	0.1
	Gesundheitsforschung						164	0.1	0.0
	NPD						152	0.1	0.2
	LfK						140	0.1
	MLPD	Klaus Dumberger		128	0.1	0.2	87	0.1	0.1
	V-Partei3						80	0.1	0.0
	Humanists						72	0.1	0.0
	Bündnis C						69	0.1
	du.						62	0.1
	ÖDP						60	0.0	0.0
	PdF						42	0.0
	DKP	Werner Sarbok		99	0.1		40	0.0	0.0
	LKR						33	0.0
	PSG						16	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				1,121			903
Total valid votes				120,519			120,737
Turnout				121,640	73.6	0.4
	SPD hold		Majority	18,592	15.4	7.7

2017 election

Federal election (2017): Recklinghausen I[4]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	SPD	Y Frank Schwabe		47,257	38.7	6.6	38,822	31.6	8.2
	CDU	Michael Breilmann		37,792	30.9	3.4	35,108	28.6	5.3
	AfD	Steffen Michel Sigmar Christ		13,953	11.4	8.2	14,777	12.0	7.5
	FDP	Anne Krüger		8,791	7.2	5.2	12,674	10.3	6.9
	Left	Erich Karl Burmeister		8,043	6.6	0.4	8,970	7.3	0.5
	Greens	Jan Matzoll		6,079	5.0	0.2	7,132	5.8	0.6
	PARTEI						1,163	0.9	0.6
	Tierschutzpartei						1,060	0.9
	AD-DEMOKRATEN						892	0.7
	Pirates						540	0.4	1.8
	NPD						362	0.3	1.0
	FW						320	0.3	0.1
	MLPD	Yvonne Adamski		327	0.3		168	0.1	0.1
	Volksabstimmung						138	0.1	0.1
	Gesundheitsforschung						134	0.1
	V-Partei³						125	0.1
	DiB						124	0.1
	DM						109	0.1
	BGE						100	0.1
	ÖDP						78	0.1	0.1
	Die Humanisten						66	0.1
	DKP						14	0.0
	SGP						8	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				1,716			1,074
Total valid votes				122,242			122,884
Turnout				123,958	73.2	2.2
	CDU hold		Majority	9,465	7.8	3.1

2013 election

Federal election (2013): Recklinghausen I[5]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	SPD	Y Frank Schwabe		54,504	45.2	2.1	48,070	39.8	4.2
	CDU	Philipp Mißfelder		41,383	34.3	3.6	40,898	33.8	5.5
	Left	Erich Burmeister		7,410	6.1	4.3	8,244	6.8	4.8
	Greens	Sebastian Ohler		6,178	5.1	1.3	7,716	6.4	1.8
	AfD	Ulrich Wolinski		3,921	3.3		5,464	4.5
	Pirates	Thomas Weijers		2,953	2.4		2,661	2.2	0.4
	FDP	Mathias Richter		2,426	2.0	5.4	4,100	3.4	7.6
	NPD	Werner Goedeke		1,770	1.5	0.2	1,530	1.3	0.1
	PARTEI						410	0.3
	PRO						402	0.3
	Volksabstimmung						217	0.2	0.1
	REP						204	0.2	0.2
	FW						185	0.2
	Nichtwahler						163	0.1
	BIG						162	0.1
	ÖDP						152	0.1	0.1
	MLPD						86	0.1	0.0
	RRP						85	0.1	0.1
	Party of Reason						79	0.1
	Die Rechte						41	0.0
	PSG						37	0.0	0.0
	BüSo						21	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				1,801			1,419
Total valid votes				120,545			120,927
Turnout				122,346	71.1	0.1
	SPD hold		Majority	13,121	10.9	1.5

2009 election

Federal election (2009): Recklinghausen I[6]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	SPD	Y Frank Schwabe		52,627	43.1	12.6	43,571	35.5	15.2
	CDU	Philipp Mißfelder		37,504	30.7	0.3	34,732	28.3	0.1
	Left	Erich Burmeister		12,781	10.5	5.0	14,202	11.6	5.3
	FDP	Michael Postel		9,090	7.4	3.8	13,462	11.0	4.8
	Greens	Monya Schnittke		7,846	6.4	3.4	9,984	8.1	2.5
	Pirates						2,162	1.8
	NPD	Marion Reinert		2,078	1.7	0.5	1,470	1.2	0.3
	Tierschutzpartei						852	0.7	0.2
	FAMILIE						599	0.5	0.1
	RENTNER						463	0.4
	REP						410	0.3	0.0
	Independent	Herold Albert Schincke		264	0.2
	RRP						202	0.2
	DVU						182	0.1
	Volksabstimmung						102	0.1	0.0
	ÖDP						82	0.1
	MLPD						80	0.1	0.0
	Centre						56	0.0	0.0
	BüSo						30	0.0	0.0
	PSG						17	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				1,847			1,379
Total valid votes				122,190			122,658
Turnout				124,037	71.0	5.2
	SPD hold		Majority	15,123	12.4	12.3