What would give Labour candidate Adrian Rurawhe hope in 2014 is that his Labour Party historically wins the party vote in the electorate and the electorate vote majority was significantly slashed last time around. In 2011, Labour received 42 per cent of the party vote in the electorate, while the Maori Party won 21 per cent. Ms Turia received double the electorate votes her party received, highlighting the regard she was held in.
Te Tai Hauauru is huge, starting in South Waikato and taking in all of Taranaki, Manawatu and Wanganui before stretching all the way down to Tawa, a suburb of Wellington. It includes just under 20 iwi.
In the past few years, Maoridom has received a financial boost in several Treaty settlements within the electorate, notably the $80 million Whanganui River Settlement and the more than $60 million to South Taranaki's Ngaruahine. However, there are critical issues for whoever wins the seat to tackle.
Senior researcher in Maori studies at Massey University Malcolm Mulholland said the electorate was essentially the same as other Maori electorates. Poverty, inequality and high Maori unemployment were issues candidates needed to engage with. Maori voters were looking at which candidate could best address those areas.
"The Maori voters are looking to life without Tariana," Mr Mulholland said.
"She's been a great Maori politician and a great representative for Te Tai Hauauru."
Mr Mulholland said all three were great candidates but he had Mr Rurawhe as the front runner.
"I suspect the tide is turning towards Labour," he said.
"He's [Mr Rurawhe] well known throughout the electorate and he has important whakapapa links to Ratana." However, he acknowledged Ratana did not have the political influence it once had.
Mr Mulholland said Mr McKenzie was an articulate candidate and had a great understanding of policy, due to his work in Parliament with the Maori Party. Mr McKenzie also has Mrs Turia as a mentor, which will add to his extensive experience in Maori politics.
He said Labour would win the party vote in the electorate "hands down".
The size of the electorate meant the MP would have to work twice as hard and appearances at meetings throughout the district was necessary.
Greens up-and-comer Jack McDonald is also standing in the electorate and, while not in the race to win, the Kapiti Coaster will add a lot to the debate and be a handy campaigner for the Green Party vote. He stood in 2011 as an 18-year-old, gaining 2000 votes. Were the Greens to get 15 per cent, he would earn a place in Parliament thanks to his list ranking of 20.
With Mana not standing in this election, their 1500 votes will go to the other parties.
The candidates:
Jack McDonald
Jack McDonald's first political act was joining the foreshore and seabed hikoi to Wellington at the age of 12.
Now 21 and the Green Party candidate for Te Tai Hauauru for the second time, he's committed to politics for the long term.
He was voted on to the Paekakariki Community Board last year, and elected chairman. That gives him speaking rights at council meetings, but not voting rights.
"I really enjoy it, and it's given me heaps of experience," he said.
Mr McDonald was brought up and still lives with his father and sister in Paekakariki. His family was pacifist and political, with no attachment to any particular party.
His iwi affiliations are to Taranaki, Te Ati Awa and Te Whakatohea and he was impressed by the Green Party's steadfast opposition to Labour's Foreshore and Seabed Act, joining the party in his middle teens.
His second brush with politics was opposing the Kapiti Expressway that's now "cutting the community in two". What riled him was that Maori land was confiscated for it.
He met Green MP Sue Kedgley through the expressway campaign, and became her youth MP.
Mr McDonald was just 18 when he stood for the Greens in Te Tai Hauauru in 2011. He increased the party vote from 3.5 per cent to 11 per cent, the biggest increase in the country and an aid to getting 14 MPs into Parliament.
"We proved the Greens are serious players in Maori politics - Green values are similar to Maori values."
This election the Greens are aiming for 15 per cent of the party vote and, as 20th on the party list, that might get him into Parliament. If that happens, he would be the youngest MP do so. Marilyn Waring was an MP at 23 and currently has that title.
He said Tariana Turia would be a hard act to follow. "She really set the benchmark for Maori representation in Parliament."
If he doesn't get in, he's likely to carry on with his BA degree majoring in political science and Maori.
- Laurel Stowell
Chris McKenzie
The Maori Party candidate for Te Tai Hauauru, Chris McKenzie, is determined to run a campaign free of what he calls "dirty politics and underhanded behaviour".
"My campaign will be a positive one," said the 44-year-old father of four.
"There will be none of this belittling others. I think it's time for the Parliament to have more values-based politicians. I believe the character of the MP is almost as important as the policies of the party."
Mr McKenzie has the task of replacing Maori Party founder and co-leader Tariana Turia, who is stepping down as an MP at this election. "She's promised to be my mentor if I get into Parliament for the next couple of years," he said. "She has a big, big heart and works passionately for her people. That's something we have in common."
Mr McKenzie is living between Tokoroa and Tawa and has previously worked as a teacher in primary, secondary and tertiary schools.
After that he worked as a Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiator for Ngati Raukawa, and for the past year-and-a-half he has been busy as a senior adviser for Mrs Turia.
"The two years in Parliament has really taught me how to negotiate the place," he said.
He had gone into Parliament with firm ideas about what he wanted to do, but had changed his views significantly.
"Some of the most important things I've learned are maintaining your personal integrity and working closely with anyone who can support the transformation for families. I want the next three to six years to be about helping families.
"I'm proud that I've got a history of success in supporting families in everything that I've done. If you go to the community that I have had an impact in they will tell you that."
Mr McKenzie also wants to focus on primary schooling and early childhood education, Whanau Ora and the health sector, and regional growth.
"I think that's really, really possible for some of the small, country towns we represent," he said.
- Melissa Wishart
Adrian Rurawhe
Adrian Rurawhe, Labour candidate for the Maori seat of Te Tai Hauauru, is a great-grandson of the founder of the Ratana movement, Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, and the grandson of Labour Party Western Maori MPs Matiu and Iriaka Ratana.
Mr Rurawhe, 52, grew up in a railway house in Taihape. His father was an engine driver, and he worked for the railways from 17 until he was made redundant in 1991.
Single and living at Whangaehu, Mr Rurawhe led the Rangitikei iwi from 2002-12 during its Treaty settlement process. He has held health and education roles and was business manager of Te Atawhai o te Ao, a Maori health and environmental research unit based in Wanganui.
Mr Rurawhe says his number one priority is to serve the electorate.
"It is a big area to cover but we have managed to talk to a lot of people and get some positive feedback.
"I want to work closely with the local bodies in the electorate and help with local bills to generate some consistency.
"There are 15 councils in the electorate and all have different rules. Some have serious consequences for the defacement of billboards, for instance, while others have barely any bylaws to address the issue."
Electoral reform was an area he would like to see addressed in Parliament and a private member's bill on electoral reform was something he would support. "The coat-tailing we have seen under the MMP system really needs to be straightened out."
Mr Rurawhe's family had a long association with Labour, but he left over the foreshore and seabed issue.
He supported the Maori Party, but became inactive about 2005 when the Ngati Apa treaty settlement negotiations claimed most of his time.
In 2008, he left the Maori Party when it supported National in government, saying the results of that alliance were bad for Maori.
Mr Rurawhe joined the Labour Party and decided to stand for the Te Tai Hauauru seat in January 2013.
- Liz Wylie