Councilor Jerke Setz from Assen is twelfth on the draft candidate list of the Christian Union for the House of Representatives elections in November. The 25-year-old politician was elected to the municipal council last year. Setz is also secretary of PerspectieF, the youth branch of the Christian Union.
Outgoing Agriculture Minister Piet Adema is also eligible, but as 45th he cannot count on an entrance into the House of Representatives. Adema previously served as acting mayor in Tynaarlo (2013-2014) and Borger-Odoorn (2014-2015). Before that he was a deputy in Friesland.
As one of the list pushers, Adema hopes to attract votes without aspiring to a place in the House of Representatives. Well-known professor Beatrice de Graaf is also at the bottom of the list at number 50.
The Christian Union has put candidates from North and South Holland in particular high on the draft candidate list. In the top five, only Alwin te Rietstap (fourth place) lives somewhere else, namely in the Overijssel village of Kloosterhaar.
Furthermore, the candidate list contains few surprises. After party leader Mirjam Bikker (Gouda), MPs Pieter Grinwis (The Hague) and Don Ceder (Amsterdam) follow in second and third place. Their party colleague Stieneke van der Graaf is much lower on the list with ninth place.
According to the latest polls, the Christian Union can count on four to six seats. The draft candidate list will be presented to the members on Saturday, September 30.