Australian Election Results Thread

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

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Not true; The Democrats came with a whisker of winning the Division of Mayo in 1998.

You're right. I am not well-versed in Australian electoral history (although it was 3.5%, more than a whisker).

Trust me, for a seat like that to get even that close to Downer is a "whisker"

[Smid]

Ah yes, the Cunningham byelection, I lived in that seat at the time.

Not only was there no Lib candidate, all the other parties preferenced the Greens ahead of Labor.

This was also the case in the Albert Park and Williamstown by-elections last year:
http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/stateby2007resultAlbertParkDistrict.html
http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/stateby2007resultWilliamstownDistrict.html

No Liberal candidate - the two most popular parties were the Greens and Labor, however unlike Cunningham, the ALP hung onto the seats.

For the record, this was the Greens' first second-place finish in a general election, and the first time any minor party has done so since the Democrats in the late 1980s in some Adelaide seats. (I think One Nation didn't manage second anywhere.)

One Nation came first in Blair in 1998 when Pauline Hanson contested that seat herself - that was on primary vote figures. The ALP came second and the Liberals third. After distributing preferences from the Nationals, and other candidates, the Liberals drew in front of the ALP and their preferences resulted in the Liberal candidate, Cameron Thompson, being elected.

One Nation also won 11 state seats in the Queensland Parliament in 1998, right before their dramatic implossion.