Dana Kirkpatrick takes back National stronghold in East Coast

The East Coast's new MP is National's Dana Kirkpatrick.

East Coast preliminary results:

• VOTES COUNTED: 100 per cent
• WINNING CANDIDATE: Dana Kirkpatrick, 14,971
• 2ND CANDIDATE: Tāmati Coffey, 11,833
• 3RD CANDIDATE: Craig Sinclair, 2195
• MARGIN: 3148
• PARTY VOTE: National Party 38.1 per cent
• 2ND PARTY: Labour Party 29.2 per cent

The East Coast electorate is once again blue after National candidate Dana Kirkpatrick convincingly won the seat.

Kirkpatrick told the Rotorua Daily Post today she was confident, but always “wary of expecting the win”.

She said given Labour’s big win at the 2020 election, by a margin of more than 4600 votes, her National camp was “conscious we had ground to make up”.

The seat was convincingly won in the last election by Labour’s Kiri Allan, who beat National candidate Tania Tapsell to turn around a National stronghold after the resignation of Anne Tolley.

Former East Coast MP Kiri Allan. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Allan, who was also the Justice Minister, resigned from Cabinet in July following personal issues and being charged with careless driving and refusing to accompany police after a crash in Wellington. She did not stand for re-election.

Waiariki list MP Tāmati Coffey changed his decision to retire from politics and was instead picked to be Labour’s East Coast candidate. He lost by more than 3000 votes.

Kirkpatrick said Coffey worked hard, was visible and had a high profile.

“But the electorate understands the need to have someone from there, who lived there, who worked there, who had been a CEO and a general manager there ... But the campaign was respectful and done with dignity, and I was happy about that.”

Kirkpatrick has a background in management and communications and is a mother. She was born and bred in Gisborne.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.