Lochner is a member of the AfD faction in the city council, but is not a party member himself. He runs a carpentry shop. Lochner already ran in the mayoral election in 2017, but clearly failed against the previous incumbent Klaus-Peter Hanke (independent), who did not run again in the current election for reasons of age.
In the first round of voting on November 26th, none of the five candidates achieved the required absolute majority, which is why a second round of voting was necessary. Lochner received almost 33 percent in the first round, making him the most votes. Ralf Thiele from the Free Voters came second with around 23 percent, while the CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth was in third place with around 20 percent.
Two defeated candidates, the individual candidate André Liebscher and the Social Democrat Ralf Wätzig, who was supported by the SPD and the Greens, decided not to run again in favor of the CDU candidate. The Left also supported Dollinger-Knuth in the second ballot. She now came in second place with 31.39 percent, ahead of Thiele with 30.08 percent. Voter turnout on Sunday was 53.8 percent after 50.38 percent in the first round.
