Minor party candidates reflect on mixed results

NZ First Candidate Reg Skipworth is unsure which major party his leader will back. Photo/ Stuart Munro

His party leader is kingmaker but Whanganui candidate Reg Skipworth has no idea which way he will go.

New Zealand First is in a position to have a significant say in how the new government is made up, but the party's Whanganui candidate said it was not clear which way Winston Peters will go.

"They'll be talking about it now and, at the end of the day, he'll go with the party that comes in with the most yeses on our policy," Mr Skipworth said.

"It's anybody's guess really ... it's a bit surprising that National did as well as they did."

Mr Skipworth was happy with his own vote, finishing third with 2333 votes, and said he would be interested in standing again in 2020.

"Our result was good, especially with the time we had to do it. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed every minute of the campaign, met some good people, had a lot of fun."

The Green Party's Whanganui candidate Nicola Patrick had mixed feelings on the overall result.

"On one side I'm really pleased that we are over 5 per cent and that we've got Chloe Swarbrick as an MP. She's going to blow everybody's socks off," she said.

"But I'm really disappointed it wasn't higher. I really thought the momentum was strong for change."

Ms Patrick believed a coalition government between Labour, the Greens and NZ First was possible.

Her goal was throughout the campaign was to "help people to see what the Greens were really about and to meet a modern Green... but that didn't convert into votes."

Ms Patrick is also keen to return in 2020.