Labour’s red wave took more than a dozen electorates off National in 2020, including a couple of seats that were traditional National strongholds.
So, how many of those electorates did National win back this time?
East Coast - NATIONAL
Labour MP Kiri Allan picked up East Coast in 2020 after National MP Anne Tolley retired from the seat at that election.
Following Allan’s resignation from politics earlier this year, Tāmati Coffey halted his own political retirement to run as Labour’s East Coast candidate. It proved an unsuccessful move, with East Coast voting in National’s candidate Dana Kirkpatrick.
Hamilton East - NATIONAL
Labour won this electorate in 2020, taking a seat that had been National’s for several elections previously.
However, Hamilton East has plumped for National this time, with Ryan Hamilton taking the honours. (His name probably helped.)
Hamilton West - NATIONAL
Gaurav Sharma won this electorate for Labour in 2020 before quitting the party and forcing a by-election last year. National’s Tama Potaka won that by-election and held on to the electorate again last night.
Hutt South - NATIONAL
National’s Chris Bishop lost Hutt South to Labour’s Ginny Andersen in 2020, but the electorate switched camps again last night, with Bishop taking the honours.
Ilam - NATIONAL
One of the bigger electorate blows to hit National in 2020 was the loss of the Ilam seat. Gerry Brownlee had held the electorate since 1996 before Labour’s Sarah Pallet took it off him.
But Ilam swung firmly back to National last night, with its candidate Hamish Campbell winning by a healthy margin. Pallet had to settle for third place this time, with TOP leader Raf Manji in second spot.
Nelson – NATIONAL... MAYBE?
Nelson was another shock victory for Labour in 2020 given National’s Nick Smith had also held the seat since 1996.
Labour’s Rachel Boyack won the seat three years ago with a majority of several thousand votes but the Nelson race was much, much closer this time.
At the end of the night, National’s Blair Cameron held the seat over Boyack with a majority of just 54 votes. So, with special votes yet to be counted, that result could yet change.
New Plymouth - NATIONAL
Labour’s Glen Bennett won the New Plymouth electorate in 2020 but lost out to National’s David MacLeod last night.
Northcote – NATIONAL
Labour’s Shanan Halbert wrestled the Northcote electorate off National’s Dan Bidois in 2020, but the electorate has returned the seat to Bidois in emphatic style.
Ōtaki – NATIONAL
Labour’s Terisa Ngobi won in Ōtaki last election by a margin of 1267. Last night, Ngobi lost the seat to National’s Tim Costley by a much bigger margin.
Rangitata - NATIONAL
Traditionally a National seat, Rangitata voted in Labour’s Jo Luxton in 2020.
However, the electorate also returned to National last night, with James Meager winning the seat comfortably.
Tukituki – NATIONAL
Labour’s Anna Lorck won Tukituki by a slim margin of several hundred votes in 2020.
She couldn’t repeat the feat last night, with National’s Catherine Wedd beating Lorck by a margin of thousands.
Upper Harbour - NATIONAL
National’s Paula Bennett won Upper Harbour by a significant margin for three elections before retiring in 2020.
Labour’s Vanushi Walters went on to win the seat that year, however she also lost her electorate by several thousand votes this time around. National’s Cameron Brewer will now be heading to Wellington as the member for Upper Harbour.
Wairarapa – NATIONAL
Labour’s Kieran McAnulty won the Wairarapa electorate off National’s Mike Butterick by a comfortable margin in 2020 but the two candidates switched places last night.
Butterick took Wairarapa back for National with a majority of a few thousand votes.
Whanganui – NATIONAL
Labour’s Steph Lewis won the Whanganui seat over National’s Harete Hipango by a margin of nearly 7000 votes last election.
But Lewis lost the electorate to National’s Carl Bates last night, trailing by more than 5000 votes – thus completing National’s total reversal of Labour’s red wave of 2020.
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