The Maori Party's Whanganui candidate described her vote in Saturday's election as "measly".
Despite her high profile, Nancy Tuaine came a distant fourth in Whanganui, receiving just 546 votes, nearly 300 behind the Conservative Party's Kim MacIntyre, who did not visit the electorate once during the campaign.
"It was measly - I was hoping for about 1500 votes, so it was disappointing to fall short of that," Ms Tuaine said.
She believes coming in very late to the campaign hindered her chances.
"I only put my name forward about six weeks ago, and I ran this campaign while I was still at work. That probably didn't help."