AfD secured 32.8% in Thuringia, leading the race, followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 23.6%, according to exit polls.
In Saxony, the Eurosceptic party garnered 30.6%, losing to the CDU by a narrow margin.
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) claimed third place in both races, with 15.8% in Thuringia and 11.8% in Saxony.
Scholz's "traffic-light" coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democrats (FDP) performed poorly. The FDP failed to reach the 5% threshold required to enter either regional legislature, and the Greens did not make it into the parliament in Thuringia.
SPD received 6.1% and 7.3% in Thuringia and Saxony, respectively.
"We are ready to take on government responsibility," AfD leader in Thuringia, Bjorn Hocke, declared, celebrating what he called a "historic victory."
Omid Nouripour, co-leader of the Greens, lamented the outcome and described it as "a profound turning point" in German history.
The AfD's victory sparked a heated debate, with mainstream Western media warning that Germany's political center is "crumbling" ahead of the next federal election in September 2025. Some outlets noted that Scholz have been "humbled" by the German right-wing party.
Others highlighted the rise of anti-establishment parties in Germany, acknowledging that both AfD and BSW, which advocate halting arms supplies to Ukraine, and imposing immigration controls, have performed notably well.