[1] The election result was reportedly affected by the Chernobyl disaster which happened two weeks earlier.

[2] In the 1982 state elections [de], the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) under Minister-President of Lower Saxony Ernst Albrecht achieved its best result ever in Lower Saxony with 50.7 percent of the vote, while the Social Democratic Party (SPD) under Karl Ravens suffered heavy losses.

However, after the former Federal Chairman of the Juso and then-Hanoverian MP Gerhard Schröder announced his candidacy and secured the support of several SPD district associations, Fuchs gave up being top candidate.

While the CDU lost its absolute majority, the SPD again exceeded the 40 percent mark thanks to significant gains.

Schröder resigned from his Bundestag mandate and moved into state politics as SPD parliamentary group leader and opposition leader.In December 1988, a constructive vote of no confidence against Albrecht, brought by the SPD parliamentary group because of the casino affair, failed by 76 votes to 79.