NZ First leader Winston Peter looking chipper at election campaign event

NZ First leader Winston Peters has looked chipper chatting to family at his election campaign event in his Northland electorate, despite the tight race that could see him lose it.

With 15 per cent of the votes counted in the electorate he's held since a 2015 by-election, Peters is trailing National candidate Matt King.

But there's only 100-odd votes in it so the result could still swing either way.

Peters, the middle of 11 children, has been joined by a number of siblings for the festivities at the Duke of Marlborough in Russell, as well as by a cousin who is providing the music.

He arrived early, even before the first results had even come in, bucking his usual tradition of a late entrance. Peters revealed he spent the day performing "domestic duties" but remained tight lipped on how he was feeling about the night.

"Elections are days when the voters of the country have all the power, as they should the rest of the 365 days each year, so I leave it up to them," he said.

"I don't make predictions."

With a quarter of the votes counted New Zealand First is on 7.1 per cent, which would secure them nine seats in Parliament. With National on 46.2 per cent (57 seats), Labour on 36.4 per cent (45 seats) and the Green Party on 6.1 per cent (8 seats) Peters looks set to be kingmaker for a third time.

In a surprising coincidence one of his first kingmaker coalition partners Jenny Shipley was at the Duke of Marlborough having dinner when Peters arrived for his party.

Peters was her deputy prime minister in the 1990s when she inherited the first MMP National-NZ First coalition after the resignation of Jim Bolger.

She sacked him from Cabinet in 1998, resulting in the coalition dissolving a short time later.

He wasn't taking her unexpected presence as an omen one way or the other.

"This isn't about Jenny Shipley, this is about the 2017 election," he said.

"It's not about the 1996 election and breaking coalition agreements and things like that, We've moved on 21 years later."