Angela Merkel faces a big blow in state polls
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BERLIN - Germany's Social Democrats beat Angela Merkel s conservatives in a closely-watched state poll Sunday, dealing a blow to the chancellor as she heads into thorny coalition talks to form a national government.
In the state vote in Lower Saxony, home of Volkswagen, Martin Schulz s Social Democrats (SPD) clinched 37 to 37.5 percent of the vote, followed by Merkel s CDU at 35 percent, according to early results reported by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
The far-right AfD scored 5.5 percent, meaning it now holds seats in 14 of Germany s 16 regional parliaments.
