Bottrop – Recklinghausen III

Federal electoral district of Germany

124 Bottrop – Recklinghausen III

Electoral district
for the Bundestag

Bottrop – Recklinghausen III in 2025

State| North Rhine-Westphalia
Population| 267,900 (2019)
Electorate| 199,344 (2021)
Major settlements| Bottrop
Gladbeck
Dorsten
Area| 307.8 km2
Current electoral district
Created| 1949
Party| SPD
Member| Michael Gerdes
Elected| 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021

Bottrop – Recklinghausen III 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 124. It is located in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia, comprising the city of Bottrop and western parts of the Recklinghausen district.[1]

Bottrop – Recklinghausen III was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2009, it has been represented by Michael Gerdes of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).[2]

## Geography

[edit]

Bottrop – Recklinghausen III is located in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the independent city of Bottrop as well as the municipalities of Dorsten and Gladbeck from the Recklinghausen district.[1]

## History

[edit]

Bottrop – Recklinghausen III was created in 1949, then known as Gladbeck – Bottrop. From 1965 through 1976, it was named Bottrop – Gladbeck. From 1980 through 1998, it was named Bottrop – Recklinghausen IV. It acquired its current name in the 2002 election. In the 1949 election, it was North Rhine-Westphalia constituency 43 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 102. From 1965 through 1976, it was number 101. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 95. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 126. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 125. From the 2025 election, it has been number 124.

Originally, the constituency comprised the independent cities of Bottrop and Gladbeck. Gladbeck was incorporated into the Recklinghausen district in 1976, but the constituency's borders did not change. In the 2002 election, it acquired the municipality of Dorsten from Recklinghausen district.

Election  | No. | Name  | Borders

|
|
|

1949 | 43 | Gladbeck – Bottrop  |

* Bottrop city
* Gladbeck city

1953 | 102
1957
1961
1965 | 101  | Bottrop – Gladbeck
1969
1972
1976 |

* Bottrop city
* Recklinghausen district (only Gladbeck municipality)

1980 | 95  | Bottrop – Recklinghausen IV
1983
1987
1990
1994
1998
2002 | 126  | Bottrop – Recklinghausen III  |

* Bottrop city
* Recklinghausen district (only Dorsten and Gladbeck municipalities)

2005
2009
2013 | 125
2017
2021
2025 | 124

## Members

[edit]

The constituency has been held by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during all but three Bundestag terms since 1949. It was first represented by Wilhelm Tenhagen of the SPD from 1949 to 1953. Johann Harnischfeger of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won it in 1953 and served three terms. Johann Wuwer regained it for the SPD in 1965 and served until 1980. Franz-Josef Mertens was then representative from 1980 to 1994, when he was succeeded by Dieter Grasedieck. In 2009, Michael Gerdes was elected representative. He was re-elected in 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Election  | Member  | Party  | %

|
|
|

| 1949 | Wilhelm Tenhagen | SPD | 35.6
| 1953 | Johann Harnischfeger | CDU | 46.7
1957 | 50.8
1961 | 46.6
| 1965 | Johann Wuwer | SPD | 52.9
1969 | 57.2
1972 | 64.7
1976 | 60.0
| 1980 | Franz-Josef Mertens | SPD | 59.9
1983 | 57.4
1987 | 58.2
1990 | 56.0
| 1994 | Dieter Grasedieck | SPD | 57.4
1998 | 63.2
2002 | 57.6
2005 | 56.0
| 2009 | Michael Gerdes | SPD | 42.8
2013 | 45.8
2017 | 36.8
2021 | 39.1

## Election results

[edit]

### 2021 election

[edit]

Federal election (2021): Bottrop – Recklinghausen III[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 Michael Gerdes | 57,560  | 39.1  |  2.3  | 51,637  | 35.0  |  3.7
| CDU | Sven Volmering  | 39,834  | 27.0  |  6.6  | 36,814  | 24.9  |  4.9
| Greens | Kim Wiesweg  | 15,144  | 10.3  |  5.9  | 16,434  | 11.1  |  6.3
| AfD | Detlef Bauer  | 14,075  | 9.6  |  2.3  | 13,899  | 9.4  |  3.0
| FDP | Sebastian Steinzen  | 11,352  | 7.7  |  1.3  | 14,647  | 9.9  |  0.5
| Left | Lisa Ellermann  | 3,887  | 2.6  |  3.7  | 4,484  | 3.0  |  3.8
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 2,536  | 1.7  |  0.8
| PARTEI | Ingo Lilienthal  | 3,283  | 2.2  |  | 1,757  | 1.2  |  0.5
| Team Todenhöfer |  | 1,246  | 0.8  |
| dieBasis | Norbert Manniegel  | 1,373  | 0.9  |  | 1,048  | 0.7  |
| FW |  | 661  | 0.4  |  0.3
| Pirates |  | 526  | 0.4  |  0.1
| Volt |  | 257  | 0.2  |
| DKP | Jörg Wingold  | 514  | 0.3  |  0.1  | 236  | 0.2  |  0.1
| LIEBE  |  | 232  | 0.2  |
| ÖDP |  | 200  | 0.1  |  0.1
| Gesundheitsforschung |  | 200  | 0.1  |  0.0
| LfK  |  | 152  | 0.1  |
| NPD |  | 150  | 0.1  |  0.2
| V-Partei3 |  | 89  | 0.1  |  0.0
| Humanists |  | 85  | 0.1  |  0.0
| LKR | Klausjochen Berger  | 226  | 0.2  |  | 81  | 0.1  |
| MLPD | Bärbel Kersken  | 108  | 0.1  |  0.1  | 78  | 0.1  |  0.0
| du. |  | 76  | 0.1  |
| PdF  |  | 50  | 0.0  |
| Bündnis C |  | 31  | 0.0  |
| SGP |  | 17  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 1,378  |  |  | 1,111  |  |
Total valid votes | 147,356  |  |  | 147,623  |  |
Turnout | 148,734  | 74.6  |  0.3  |
| SPD hold | Majority | 17,726  | 12.1  |  8.9  |

### 2017 election

[edit]

Federal election (2017): Bottrop – Recklinghausen III[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 Michael Gerdes | 55,128  | 36.8  |  9.0  | 47,013  | 31.2  |  8.9
| CDU | Sven Volmering  | 50,334  | 33.6  |  2.9  | 44,967  | 29.9  |  5.0
| AfD | Alfred Stegemann  | 17,756  | 11.8  |  8.1  | 18,710  | 12.4  |  8.3
| FDP | Tristian Zielinski  | 9,667  | 6.5  |  4.8  | 15,741  | 10.5  |  7.0
| Left | David Sperl  | 9,505  | 6.3  |  1.0  | 10,292  | 6.8  |  0.6
| Greens | Andrea Swoboda  | 6,522  | 4.4  |  0.7  | 7,248  | 4.8  |  0.6
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 1,330  | 0.9  |
| AD-DEMOKRATEN  |  | 1,140  | 0.8  |
| PARTEI |  | 1,062  | 0.7  |  0.4
| Pirates |  | 667  | 0.4  |  1.6
| NPD |  | 421  | 0.3  |  1.2
| ÖDP |  | 340  | 0.2  |  0.1
| DKP | Gerhard Horst Dorka  | 691  | 0.5  |  | 337  | 0.2  |
| FW |  | 294  | 0.2  |  0.1
| Volksabstimmung  |  | 160  | 0.1  |  0.1
| Gesundheitsforschung |  | 143  | 0.1  |
| DM  |  | 129  | 0.1  |
| MLPD | Mazhar Hasan Alias  | 256  | 0.2  |  0.0  | 119  | 0.1  |  0.0
| V-Partei³ |  | 115  | 0.1  |
| DiB |  | 110  | 0.1  |
| BGE |  | 107  | 0.1  |
| Die Humanisten |  | 57  | 0.0  |
| SGP |  | 12  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 1,983  |  |  | 1,328  |  |
Total valid votes | 149,859  |  |  | 150,514  |  |
Turnout | 151,842  | 74.9  |  3.0  |
| SPD hold | Majority | 4,794  | 3.2  |  6.1  |

### 2013 election

[edit]

Federal election (2013): Bottrop – Recklinghausen III[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 Michael Gerdes | 66,913  | 45.8  |  3.0  | 58,800  | 40.1  |  3.0
| CDU | Sven Volmering  | 53,354  | 36.5  |  3.6  | 51,021  | 34.8  |  6.1
| Left | Friedrich-Wilhelm Zachraj  | 7,827  | 5.4  |  4.0  | 9,153  | 6.2  |  4.4
| AfD | Franz-Josef Ferme  | 5,530  | 3.8  |  | 6,034  | 4.1  |
| Greens | Elke Marita Stuckel-Lotz  | 5,277  | 3.6  |  2.1  | 7,998  | 5.5  |  1.5
| Pirates | Hans Peter Winkelmann  | 3,613  | 2.5  |  | 3,029  | 2.1  |  0.5
| FDP | Sebastian Steinzen  | 2,372  | 1.6  |  5.0  | 5,095  | 3.5  |  7.5
| NPD |  | 2,208  | 1.5  |  0.3
| PRO |  | 547  | 0.4  |
| PARTEI |  | 495  | 0.3  |
| ÖDP | Marianne Dominas  | 986  | 0.7  |  0.1  | 465  | 0.3  |  0.0
| REP |  | 327  | 0.2  |  0.2
| Volksabstimmung  |  | 280  | 0.2  |  0.1
| BIG  |  | 243  | 0.2  |
| FW |  | 177  | 0.1  |
| MLPD | Petra Braun  | 299  | 0.2  |  0.0  | 142  | 0.1  |  0.0
| Nichtwahler  |  | 142  | 0.1  |
| Party of Reason |  | 110  | 0.1  |
| RRP  |  | 79  | 0.1  |  0.1
| Die Rechte |  | 54  | 0.0  |
| PSG |  | 53  | 0.0  |  0.0
| BüSo |  | 36  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 2,010  |  |  | 1,693  |  |
Total valid votes | 146,171  |  |  | 146,488  |  |
Turnout | 148,181  | 71.9  |  0.7  |
| SPD hold | Majority | 13,559  | 9.3  |  0.6  |

### 2009 election

[edit]

Federal election (2009): Bottrop – Recklinghausen III[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 | Michael Gerdes | 62,810  | 42.8  |  13.2  | 54,532  | 37.1  |  13.3
| CDU | Sven Volmering  | 48,290  | 32.9  |  1.5  | 42,153  | 28.7  |  0.6
| Left | Günter Blocks  | 13,765  | 9.4  |  4.3  | 15,624  | 10.6  |  4.3
| FDP | Marc Liebehenz  | 9,710  | 6.6  |  4.1  | 16,171  | 11.0  |  4.5
| Greens | Hans-Jürgen Reitmeyer  | 8,372  | 5.7  |  3.1  | 10,267  | 7.0  |  1.4
| Pirates |  | 2,261  | 1.5  |
| NPD | Dirk Tittmann  | 2,391  | 1.6  |  0.6  | 1,738  | 1.2  |  0.4
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 1,052  | 0.7  |  0.0
| FAMILIE |  | 804  | 0.5  |  0.2
| REP |  | 643  | 0.4  |  0.0
| RENTNER  |  | 578  | 0.4  |
| ÖDP | Stefan Krix  | 1,138  | 0.8  |  | 447  | 0.3  |
| RRP  |  | 182  | 0.1  |
| MLPD | Petra Braun  | 243  | 0.2  |  0.0  | 128  | 0.1  |  0.0
| DVU |  | 114  | 0.1  |
| Volksabstimmung  |  | 102  | 0.1  |  0.0
| Centre |  | 74  | 0.1  |  0.0
| BüSo |  | 34  | 0.0  |  0.0
| PSG |  | 23  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 1,804  |  |  | 1,596  |  |
Total valid votes | 146,719  |  |  | 146,927  |  |
Turnout | 148,523  | 71.2  |  8.0  |
| SPD hold | Majority | 14,520  | 9.9  |  14.7  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Constituency Bottrop – Recklinghausen III". Federal Returning Officer.
2. ^ "Results for Bottrop – Recklinghausen III". Federal Returning Officer.
3. ^ Results for Bottrop – Recklinghausen III
4. ^ Results for Bottrop – Recklinghausen III
5. ^ Results for Bottrop – Recklinghausen III
6. ^ Results for Bottrop – Recklinghausen III

* v
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Electoral districts of North Rhine-Westphalia in the German Bundestag

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* Steinfurt I – Borken I
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See also|

* List of Bundestag constituencies
* Elections in Germany

*[No.]: Constituency number
*[43]: North Rhine-Westphalia 43
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