The conservative CDU remains the strongest party after local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. On Sunday, around 13.7 million people went to the polls in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. According to preliminary state results, the CDU received the most votes with 33.3%. The AfD also overtook the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia in the federal election that took place last February. AfD performs well in former SPD strongholdBeyond the state election in North Rhine-Westphalia, municipal elections in cities such as Gelsenkirchen have also garnered unsual levels of attention.