Rangitīkei is a strong National seat with McKelvie seeking a fourth term.
But Peke-Mason said things were changing.
"We are in a new global environment now. My chances are just as good as anyone else."
Peke-Mason liked her party's rebuild programme for infrastructure and institutions. She wants to see increased use of rail for both passengers and freight, and passenger trains stopping at the Marton, Taihape, Waiouru and Taumarunui stations.
Internet connectivity has to improve, and black spots to disappear, and she wants sustainable business practices and good health and housing provision.
Peke-Mason lives at Ratana, 20km from Whanganui. Her roots in the district go back to the early 1800s, and she has worked across most of the north end of the electorate.
She has a background in business and has been a self-employed consultant for 20 years.
In terms of political experience, she was a member of the Ratana Community Board for six years, before being elected to Rangitīkei District Council for 12 years.
She has been the first chair of the board transitioning Ruapehu iwi Ngāti Rangi toward its post settlement governance entity. She did not stand for election to it, and that role ends at the board's AGM on September 19.
She is also a past chairwoman of the Whanganui Māori Regional Tourism Organisation and the deputy chair of the Ngaporo Waimarino Forest Trust.
Her other roles include appointment to the Whanganui District Health Board and the Whanganui Community Foundation - both of these are on hold while she campaigns for a seat in Parliament.
What she wants to offer to the large Rangitīkei electorate is her tenacity, her ability to collaborate, advocate and influence, and her record of getting things done.
"I am a fresh-faced, experienced politician, who can confidently navigate the bicultural world we live in," she said.
