Germany's Social Democrats beat Merkel's CDU in Lower Saxony on Sunday

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) beat Angela Merkel's Conservatives in a vote in the northern state of Lower Saxony on Sunday.

According to projections on public broadcaster ARD released earlier today (via Reuters):

SDP 37.3% up from 32.6% prev

CDU 33.4% down from 36% seen in 2013

Greens 8.9%

FDP 7.4%