German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union faced a projected historic low in state elections held Sunday in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.

Pre-election polls showed the CDU at just 6 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, putting the party at risk of falling below the 5 percent threshold required for seats in the state parliament. That would mark the first time the CDU has failed to enter a regional legislature since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949.

The outcome follows a crushing defeat two weeks earlier in Saxony-Anhalt, where the CDU fell to 17.2 percent while the far-right Alternative for Germany captured nearly 44 percent. Merz described that result as his party's worst in decades.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the center-left Social Democrats led with support around 37 percent, narrowly ahead of the AfD at 36 percent, according to public broadcaster ZDF. The CDU trailed far behind as an afterthought in the contest between the two larger parties.

Berlin presented a separate challenge. Polls there placed the far-left Die Linke ahead at 22 percent, with the CDU at 20 percent. The AfD polled at 18 percent in the capital, showing gains even in a traditionally liberal stronghold.

Merz canceled a planned trip to the United Nations General Assembly to monitor results and scheduled a crisis meeting with CDU leadership. His approval ratings have fallen as low as 14 percent in recent surveys.

The elections come amid broader national trends. The CDU has struggled to counter the AfD's rise on issues including immigration and economic stagnation. The party had previously governed Saxony-Anhalt continuously since 2002 before its recent collapse there.

Voter turnout and final tallies will determine the full extent of the damage, but early indications pointed to continued pressure on Merz's leadership and the mainstream parties' longstanding refusal to cooperate with the AfD.