178 Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg
Electoral district for the Bundestag
Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg in 2013
State	Hesse
Population	298,000 (2019)
Electorate	220,466 (2021)
Major settlements	Limburg an der Lahn Taunusstein Idstein
Area	1,171.2 km2
Current electoral district
Created	1949
Party	CDU
Member	Klaus-Peter Willsch
Elected	1998, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021

Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg 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 178. It is located in southwestern Hesse, comprising the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district and the southwestern part of the Limburg-Weilburg district.^[1]

Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 1998, it has been represented by Klaus-Peter Willsch of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).^[2]

Geography

Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg is located in southwestern Hesse. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district as well as the Limburg-Weilburg district excluding the municipalities of Beselich, Löhnberg, Mengerskirchen, Merenberg, Runkel, Villmar, Weilburg, Weilmünster, and Weinbach.^[1]

History

Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg was created in 1949, then known as Limburg. It acquired its current name in the 1980 election. In the 1949 election, it was Hesse constituency 12 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1976, it was number 137. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 135. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was number 179. Since the 2009 election, it has been number 178.

Originally, the constituency comprised the districts of Rheingaukreis, Untertaunuskreis, and Limburg. It acquired its current borders in the 1976 election.

Members

The constituency has been held continuously by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since its creation. It was first represented by Josef Arndgen from 1949 to 1965. He was succeeded by Benno Erhard from 1965 to 1987. Michael Jung then served from 1987 to 1998. Klaus-Peter Willsch was elected in 1998, and re-elected in 2002, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Election results

2021 election

Federal election (2021): Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg[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	%	±%
	CDU	Y Klaus-Peter Willsch		51,318	30.2	11.6	44,413	26.1	8.5
	SPD	Martin Rabanus		48,441	28.5	3.2	43,708	25.6	4.9
	Greens	Anna Lührmann		24,418	14.4	7.4	25,328	14.9	6.0
	FDP	Alexander Müller		18,126	10.7	3.0	23,745	13.9	0.7
	AfD	Marcus Resch		13,547	8.0	2.2	14,523	8.5	3.4
	FW	Bianka Rössler		6,103	3.6	1.0	3,466	2.0	1.0
	Left	Zill Valentin		4,563	2.7	2.8	5,395	3.2	3.3
	Tierschutzpartei						2,772	1.6	0.6
	dieBasis	Jens Meyer		2,671	1.6		2,386	1.4
	PARTEI						1,357	0.8	0.0
	Volt						830	0.5
	Pirates						661	0.4	0.1
	Team Todenhöfer						546	0.3
	Independent	Carsten Schlossbauer		461	0.3
	Gesundheitsforschung						245	0.1
	Bündnis C	Reinhard Seiler		332	0.2		220	0.1
	NPD						195	0.1	0.1
	Humanists						186	0.1
	V-Partei3						178	0.1	0.1
	ÖDP						159	0.1	0.0
	LKR						55	0.0
	Bündnis 21						54	0.0
	DKP						36	0.0	0.0
	MLPD						24	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				2,267			1,765
Total Valid votes				169,980			170,482
Turnout				172,247	78.1	0.7
	CDU hold		Majority	2,877	1.7	14.8

2017 election

Federal election (2017): Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg[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	%	±%
	CDU	Y Klaus-Peter Willsch		71,555	41.8	10.4	59,346	34.6	10.9
	SPD	Martin Rabanus		43,427	25.3	3.8	35,604	20.7	4.4
	AfD	Christine Margarete Anderson		17,439	10.2	5.9	20,399	11.9	6.0
	FDP	Alexander Müller		13,053	7.6	5.3	22,650	13.2	6.9
	Greens	Timo Müller		12,020	7.0	1.4	15,273	8.9	0.3
	Left	Benno Pörtner		9,394	5.5	1.6	11,069	6.4	1.9
	Tierschutzpartei						1,827	1.1
	FW	Georg Horz		4,450	2.6		1,794	1.0	0.3
	PARTEI						1,447	0.8	0.5
	Pirates						556	0.3	1.5
	NPD						443	0.3	0.7
	BGE						318	0.2
	V-Partei³						294	0.2
	DM						265	0.2
	ÖDP						238	0.1
	MLPD						40	0.0	0.0
	DKP						32	0.0
	BüSo						30	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				2,289			2,002
Total Valid votes				171,338			171,625
Turnout				173,627	78.8	3.7
	CDU hold		Majority	28,128	16.5	6.5

2013 election

Federal election (2013): Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg[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	%	±%
	CDU	Y Klaus-Peter Willsch		84,489	52.1	6.0	73,599	45.5	8.2
	SPD	Martin Rabanus		47,152	29.1	1.4	40,718	25.1	2.9
	Greens	Cornelius Dehm		9,119	5.6	2.4	13,955	8.6	1.9
	AfD	Claus Manfred Winhard		6,913	4.3		9,469	5.8
	Left	Benno Pörtner		6,300	3.9	1.7	7,290	4.5	2.1
	FDP	Alexander Müller		3,726	2.3	8.4	10,139	6.3	12.4
	Pirates	Axel Schwenk		2,869	1.8		2,884	1.8	0.2
	NPD	Lukas Keiner		1,464	0.9	0.0	1,476	0.9	0.0
	FW						1,126	0.7
	PARTEI						611	0.4
	REP						302	0.2	0.5
	PRO						189	0.1
	PSG						67	0.0
	BüSo						57	0.0	0.1
	MLPD						42	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				3,756			3,864
Total Valid votes				162,032			161,924
Turnout				165,788	75.1	0.1
	CDU hold		Majority	37,337	23.0	4.6

2009 election

Federal election (2009): Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg[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	%	±%
	CDU	Y Klaus-Peter Willsch		75,224	46.1	1.4	60,875	37.2	2.6
	SPD	Martin Rabanus		45,127	27.7	8.9	36,352	22.2	9.6
	FDP	Alexander Müller		17,463	10.7	5.3	30,530	18.7	6.1
	Greens	Simon Lissner		13,141	8.1	2.9	17,210	10.5	1.7
	Left	Adolf Knapp		9,066	5.6	2.4	10,853	6.6	2.6
	Pirates						3,199	2.0
	Tierschutzpartei						1,665	1.0	0.3
	REP	Klaus Opitz		1,603	1.0	0.1	1,133	0.7	0.1
	NPD	Daniela Vrankaj		1,432	0.9	0.4	1,490	0.9	0.1
	BüSo						174	0.1	0.0
	DVU						106	0.1
	MLPD						32	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				3,400			2,837
Total Valid votes				163,056			163,619
Turnout				166,456	75.2	4.4
	CDU hold		Majority	30,097	18.4	7.4

References