The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Wolfgang Clement.

Minister-President Clement met with FDP lead candidate Jürgen Möllemann post-election, but the SPD settled on renewing the coalition with the Greens.

The Greens achieved a significant victory with 10% and held balance of power in the Landtag, subsequently forming a coalition government with the SPD.

The FDP ran with former Vice-Chancellor Jürgen Möllemann as their lead candidate, and sought to re-enter the Landtag and surpass the Greens for third place.

The CDU were dragged down by the ongoing donations scandal which began at the end of the previous year; their popularity in state polling fell from a high of 46% in December to just 32% in March.