As election night drew to a close, father-of-three and re-elected list MP Clayton Mitchell pulled a small pink crystal out of his pocket.
Smiling sadly, the Tauranga-based New Zealand First candidate said it was a gift from his young daughter for luck on election day.
Mr Mitchell said he had "mixed emotions" about the election result.
He was happy to have kept his seat for a second term but sad to see his party's representation in Parliament drop and to lose caucus members who were like "brothers and sisters" to him.
Provisional results have New Zealand First sitting at 7.5 per cent with nine seats - two fewer than last term.
Party leader Winston Peters told reporters he believed the party held the "balance of political responsibility" but said they would not rush to a decision.
Clayton Mitchell said he would be heading to Wellington tomorrow to join the party's caucus and board in deciding what role New Zealand First might play in the next government.
Mr Mitchell was joined at Daniels in the Park by fellow New Zealand First candidates Lester Gray, Bay of Plenty, Anne-Maree Andrews, Coromandel, and Stuart Husband, Waikato, as well as more than 50 supporters in good spirits.
Mr Mitchell was expecting a nail-biter, but hoping for an improved result on 2014's 9 per cent.
The mood in the room grew more sombre as the evening went on and it became apparent early results and polling were being borne out.
Bad news from Northland did not help: Mr Peters was losing the party's best hope for an electorate seat to National's Matt King.
"We've got a lot to do," Mr Mitchell told supporters. "We will come back from this."
He would not be drawn on whether New Zealand First would lean right or left to form a government.
The result was not what first-time voter Cameron Rutton, 28, or long-time supporter Joyce Robertson, 92, had hoped for either.
Mr Rutton said he had not taken much interest in politics until this election, but liked the party's tertiary and immigration policies.
As a student he was worried about finding a job, paying his rent and one day buying a house. He worried New Zealand's current immigration levels would make that more difficult.
While the result was a bit disappointing, he said all that mattered was that the party had people in Parliament.