The minor party candidates are all first-timers in the electorate and include Conservative Roy Brown, Act's Neil Wilson and New Zealand First's Rom Rudzki.
Mr Brown, however, has stood for Parliament before - in the Napier seat - while Mr Wilson has a long history of political campaigns and has stood in the Mana seat.
Those candidates will be wanting as many party votes as they can but, with such a margin between the two major candidates, are unlikely to play a role at electorate level. The notable absence in the electorate is the Green Party.
Regional development and addressing population decline will be the battleground this year, while Rangitikei Mayor Andy Watson said he was surprised roading had not become an election issue because it would be important for the electorate in the coming years.
Massey University associate Professor Richard Shaw said no one would genuinely challenge Mr McKelvie.
"I would think there is absolutely no likelihood at all," he said. "He's got major brand recognition and face recognition."
Ms Russell was a capable candidate and brought knowledge and experience to the table, Professor Shaw said.
"She knows an awful lot about tax - she teaches tax.
"She was raised in the provinces, so she's not some ring-in from Wellington and she's working like a trojan. Her job I would think is to lift the profile of the party."
As for the minor candidates, Mr Shaw said it would be about the party line.
"Their job is to get out to as many halls and as many street corners and as many meetings as they can," he said.
"People in the provinces, they just don't split their vote."
Candidates
Roy Brown, Conservative
The Conservative Party's Rangitikei candidate Roy Brown believes people should have a direct say in what the Government does.
It was that belief that led Mr Brown to join the Conservatives soon after the party was formed in 2011.
"New Zealanders voted through citizen-initiated referenda on the anti-smacking bill, asset sales and getting tougher on criminals, but those the results were largely ignored. That was the last straw for me," Mr Brown said.
"We need to give the people a say."
Making citizen-initiated referenda binding is one of his party's campaign platforms for the 2014 election.
He decided to stand for the seat because he wanted to "make a difference if I can".
He grew up in Blenheim, and has lived in Feilding for several years with his wife Tessa and three daughters - the youngest of whom is just 6 weeks old.
He is Nova Energy's marketing manager for the Manawatu.
Mr Brown loves the rural area in which he lives. It troubles him to see small towns declining, however. Mr Brown believes local farmers need looking after and their interests protecting.
"The other things I am passionate about are jobs and attracting people to the area. We need to encourage young people into business and I'd love to see some Government incentives for young people who want to start a business."
He also wants to free up cash for businesses by cutting what he calls "the red and green tape".
Mr Brown said he was aiming to win the Rangitikei seat and help increase the party vote.
"As a candidate, you have to try and win your seat, but it's the party vote that is key for us."
Polling shows the Conservatives around 5 per cent, the threshold required to get the party into Parliament.
"It's very encouraging and we're confident we'll be in the next Parliament. It's just a matter of how many MPs we'll have."
At number nine on the party list, he is unlikely to get into Parliament unless the Conservatives poll above 7 per cent.
Ian McKelvie, National
Rangitikei's incumbent MP is National's Ian McKelvie and he is happy with the direction the electorate is taking.
He said Rangitikei, like much of the country, was benefiting from an improved economic outlook, higher commodity prices and better farming conditions.
He said the national cycleway initiative of Prime Minister John Key had kick-started the electorate's hospitality and accommodation sectors.
"It's created quite a lot of activity, particularly in the north of the electorate."
He said the difficulties for Rangitikei were the same as those faced by rural communities throughout New Zealand, particularly the provision of health services.
"Obviously, the ideal situation is to have local services, with people not having to go to Palmerston North or Wanganui for healthcare.
"That will be the challenge for me if I am elected for a second term, and I will continue to work with that.
"My role is to attempt to influence the Government to work favourably for rural areas such as Rangitikei."
With regard to health provision, he was happy with the Government funding district health boards and those boards deciding where to spend the money locally.
Mr McKelvie said he had enjoyed his first term in Parliament.
He has been a farmer and a businessman in the insurance and motor vehicle industries, and was mayor of the Manawatu district before entering Parliament.
He lives in the coastal settlement of Tangimoana, where his family has had a presence for more than 160 years.
When not in Wellington on parliamentary duties, Mr McKelvie spends much of his time at his three electorate offices in Feilding, Marton and Taumarunui.
He has three adult children and six grandchildren, and paid tribute to his wife Sue.
At the 2011 election Mr McKelvie won the safe National seat ahead of the second-highest polling candidate by a majority of 8700 votes. Mr McKelvie is the Rangitikei electorate's 27th MP.
Rom Rudzki, NZ First
New Zealand First's Rom Rudzki never thought he would join a political party.
But that's what he did three years ago after become "shocked" by what was happening to New Zealand, including the selling of state assets.
"Why aren't New Zealanders protesting? The country is being stolen from under their noses," he said. "I felt I had to stand up or be trampled on."
He is running a "serious campaign" to win the Rangitikei seat but also hoping to increase NZ First's party vote.
He was inspired by something party leader Winston Peters had said to him.
"He told me Rangitikei was a winnable seat. He said [former Social Credit Party leader] Bruce Beetham had won Rangitikei from National, so it is possible."
The issues he believes are facing Rangitikei include people leaving because there is no work, access to local healthcare, and water quality.
Mr Rudzki lives on a lifestyle block outside Palmerston North, on the eastern border of the electorate, sharing the home with his wife, son, father-in-law and dog. Originally from England and of Polish descent, Mr Rudzki came to New Zealand with his family in 2001.
He's the founder of the New Zealand School of Export, which gives budding businesspeople the opportunity to study for a Diploma of International Trade.
"We help people to come up with their export growth plan. It is basically full-on mentoring."
In 1996 Mr Rudzki was the winner of the Financial Times David Thomas Award for his pioneering work in entrepreneurship.
Throughout his working life he's held a variety of jobs including in a steel mill, on a factory assembly line, as a bakery warehouseman, labouring on building sites, as a college lecturer, an inner-city youth and community worker, as the head of an international office, overseas economic development adviser, and an unpaid elected trade union officer.
He said he was passionate about "supporting and growing people".
"What I'm finding is that a lot of people are intending not to vote this year because they believe all political parties are the same.
"This is a very worrying trend."
Deborah Russell, Labour
Labour Party candidate Deborah Russell is motivated by a desire for an egalitarian society.
"Everyone should live as equals and have a job and a roof over their heads.
"That's why I joined Labour, because that is what the party is about."
Dr Russell is standing for the Rangitikei seat for the first time, having joined Labour in 2011. Her husband, Malcolm, encouraged her to join the party after the family returned from living in Australia.
"I got involved immediately, and I'm now the chair of the party's economic policy committee."
Based in Palmerston North, she is in the unusual position of not living in the Rangitikei electorate, although she does work in it.
She is a lecturer in taxation at Massey University and lives with her husband and three teenage daughters.
"My daughters like to come campaigning with me - it's great how supportive they are."
Born in Whangamomona in Taranaki, she grew up in New Plymouth and trained and worked as an accountant before studying for a PhD in political philosophy. She would like to win the seat, and has been campaigning up and down the electorate, but her main focus is on the party vote.
She believes work - or lack of it - is the toughest issue in the Rangitikei, particularly in places like Marton, Raetihi and Taumarunui.
"People just don't have enough work.
"If they have a job that pays well, a lot of other good stuff happens - they have a sense of security, a sense of community, and towns starting booming."
She wants to see government work alongside industry.
"For example, the sheep and beef sector is currently in a competitive death spiral.
"What it needs is a Fonterra-like structure."
Dr Russell is ranked 33rd on Labour Party list and would only get in on the list if Labour got more than 30 per cent of the party vote.
She has been a friend of Labour leader David Cunliffe for 30 years, after they studied together at Otago University.
"He is an extremely kind and compassionate man who wants the best for everyone."
Neil Wilson, Act
The Act Party's Rangitikei candidate, Neil Wilson, maybe a relative newcomer to the area, but he's no stranger to politics.
Mr Wilson, who is ranked 41st on Act party list, has been involved in political campaigns since 1972, first with the Labour Party, then as a founding member of Act.
For 20 years he worked behind the scenes on Labour campaigns, mostly in the South Island.
His move towards right-wing politics came in 1993 when he read Unfinished Business, by Act co-founder Sir Roger Douglas.
"It inspired me, and I joined Act in 1994. I was one of the first few hundred people to join the party," Mr Wilson said.
He unsuccessfully stood for Act in the Mana seat in 1996.
Originally from Invercargill, he worked in the meat industry for many years, but is now supposedly retired.
"I tried to retire but I didn't like it much, so I work on a local dairy farm."
He and partner Lorraine, who have five adult children, moved to Marton from Tawa in early 2013.
"We decided we wanted a taste of rural life so we started looking around for somewhere and found our six-hectare block of land just outside Marton."
Mr Wilson was shoulder-tapped to stand for Rangitikei, but he's realistic about his chances of winning the seat.
"It's not about me personally, it's about the party. My aim is to add to the party vote for Act."
Mr Wilson said he hoped the party would be in a coalition government with National after the September 20 election.
"I think National needs a ginger up, and Act is the best party to do that."
He said the biggest issues facing the Rangitikei electorate were the same as much of rural New Zealand, such as population decline and water and its uses.
"There's a widespread concern that although the economy is growing, it's not growing strongly for many parts of the country."
Mr Wilson said he hoped voters to the right of centre who were "disillusioned with National" would vote for Act on election day.
