National’s Penny Simmonds Wins Invercargill Seat With Smaller Margin

It was possibly the closest election race in the country between Penny Simmonds and Liz Craig, but National just got there in the end.

Provisional votes released on October 17 had Simmonds as the winner with a margin of 685 votes, but on Friday that gap narrowed to just 225.

“Phew! Thank you everyone,” Penny said on her Facebook page on Friday night.

Dr Craig said she understood it was the closest in the country with another in Northland possibly similar, “but we’ve certainly not seen it in Invercargill.”

She said often the special votes favoured Labour and the Green Party, which was obviously the case here – with the extra 3000 votes making the gap that much smaller.

Simmonds electorate seat win for National was won by 17,929 to Craig’s 17,705.

Dr Craig will remain Labour’s Invercargill-based MP and would continue to work on the new river estuary issues, social housing and ensuring a smooth and managed transition for Tiwai over the next three years.