Candidates lining up to represent Northlanders in October’s general election

The people wanting Northlanders’ votes in the October general election are starting to line up with the candidates for all major parties expected to be announced by the end of this month

The race for seats in October’s general election is heating up, but not all candidates to compete in the Whangārei, Northland and Te Tai Tokerau electorates have been chosen yet.

With Whangārei MP Emily Henderson announcing she won’t contest the election the way is open for another new Labour candidate to take on National MP Shane Reti.

National has confirmed Reti - who held the seat until newcomer Henderson won it for the first time for Labour in 45 years in 2020 - as its candidate for Whangārei. Reti was the elected member for Whangārei for two terms - 2014 and 2017 before Henderson won the seat.

As well, National has picked Maungaturoto farmer Grant McCallum as its candidate for Northland in the upcoming election.

National traditionally does not stand candidates in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate.

Labour’s nomination periods for both Northland and Te Tai Tokerau electorates have closed. The only nominees are incumbents Willow-Jean Prime for Northland and Kelvin Davis for Te Tai Tokerau and while they are still to be confirmed, it is expected that they will be the party’s candidates. Davies will be hoping to win the seat for the fourth time, while Prime won the seat for Labour for the very first time last election.

The nominations period for the party’s Whangārei candidate closed on March 31 and an announcement is due shortly.

The Green Party has announced Hūhana Lyndon as its candidate to contest the Te Tai Tokerau electorate.

The party’s candidates for Northland and Whangārei will be announced in the coming weeks

Iwi leader Mariameno Kapa-Kingi (Te Aupouri and Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa) will be Te Pati Māori’s candidate for the Te Tai Tokerau electorate. Te Pati Māori will announce its candidates for the Whangārei and Northland electorates in the next few weeks.

NZ First will announce its candidate for Northland on April 14 and its Whangārei candidate shortly after that.

The general election will be held on October 4 this year.

All three seats in the region - Te TaiTokerau, Whangārei and Northland, are held by Labour.