Ian McKelvie says he's still not settled in Parliament and that if he was he wouldn't be relevant.
The two-term National MP is standing for re-election in the Rangitikei seat in September, up against Marton's Heather Warren who has been announced as Labour's candidate.
Mr McKelvie came into Parliament in 2011 after a stint as Manawatu Mayor and was re-elected in 2014 with a 11,060 majority.
"I wouldn't say I'm settled," he said. "I think if you're not always nervous about this place and you're not conscious of what you're doing you can lose your relevance very quickly," he said.
"I think my real relevance is that I'm a little bit different in that I have a broad experience of small town New Zealand."