State premier Laschet is frontrunner to succeed Merkel - party sources

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and North Rhine-Westphalia's State Premier Armin Laschet arrive in front of the Staendehaus former parliament building prior to a North Rhine-Westphalian cabinet meeting in Duesseldorf, Germany, August 18, 2020. Sascha Schuermann/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Armin Laschet is fast emerging as the frontrunner in the race to be the ruling Christian Democrats' (CDU) candidate for chancellor in Germany's federal election next year after Angela Merkel stands down, two dozen party sources say.

Laschet, the premier of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, who presents himself as the Merkel continuity candidate, is slowly building a majority among the CDU's 1,001 voting delegates ahead of December's vote on the party leadership, the sources say.