Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats won the election in Germany’s largest state

The Christian Democrats Union, Angela Merkel's party, have beaten the center-left Social Democrats in the regional election Sunday. 

This is a significant win because it is Germany’s biggest state and is propelling her party forward ahead of the national elections in September.  The German leader beat the Social Democrats by 33% to 31.5% in Sunday's state election in North Rhine-Westphalia.