2017 Cootamundra state by-election

A by-election was held in the state electoral district of Cootamundra on 14 October 2017. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Katrina Hodgkinson (National).^[1] The by-election was won by Steph Cooke for the National Party on preferences. The Nationals suffered a 20% swing on first preference votes and 10% on a two-party basis.

2017 Cootamundra state by-election

14 October 2017

First party Second party Third party   SFF Candidate Steph Cooke Charlie Sheahan Matthew Stadtmiller Party National Labor SFF Popular vote 21,093 10,930 10,621 Percentage 46.2% 24.0% 23.3% Swing 19.6pp 2.0pp 23.3pp TPP 60.5% 39.5% TPP swing 10.0pp 10.0pp

MP before election Katrina Hodgkinson National Elected MP Steph Cooke National

The by-election was held on the same day as by-elections in Blacktown and Murray.

Candidates

The candidates in ballot paper order are as follows:^[2]

Candidate nominations
Party		Candidate	Notes (not on ballot paper)
	Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)	Philip Langfield
	Greens NSW	Jeffrey Passlow	Formerly chief hospital pathology scientist and then a businessman, veteran environmentalist. Retired to a farm where he now raises boar goats and Wiltshire Horn sheep. He is an advocate for marriage equality and a transition to renewable energy.
	Shooters, Fishers and Farmers	Matthew Stadtmiller	Newspaper proprietor, former councillor and council candidate.
	Independent	Jim Saleam	Veteran anti-immigration activist and president of the Australia First Party, is standing as an Independent as the party is not registered for state elections.[3]
	Country Labor	Charlie Sheahan	Councillor on Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council and farm manager who will seek to capitalise on opposition to forced council mergers in New South Wales.[4]
	The Nationals	Steph Cooke	Businesswoman and 2017 NSW Florist of the Year.

Results

2017 Cootamundra by-election
Saturday 14 October ^[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Steph Cooke	21,093	46.2	−19.6
	Labor	Charlie Sheahan	10,930	24.0	−2.0
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers	Matthew Stadtmiller	10,621	23.3	+23.3
	Christian Democrats	Philip Langfield	1,273	2.8	+0.5
	Greens	Jeffrey Passlow	1,238	2.7	−0.8
	Ind. Australia First	Jim Saleam	453	1.0	+1.0
Total formal votes			45,608	97.7	+0.4
Informal votes			1,057	2.3	−0.4
Turnout			46,665	87.2	−4.7
Two-party-preferred result
	National	Steph Cooke	24,114	60.5	−10.0
	Labor	Charlie Sheahan	15,769	39.5	+10.0
	National hold		Swing	−10.0

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Cootamundra
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

References

1. Green, Antony. "Cootamundra by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
2. "List of Nominated Candidates". Electoral Commission NSW. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
3. Grey, Lachlan (27 August 2017). "Australia First leader Jim Saleam to contest Cootamundra by-election in November". Cootamundra Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
4. Lees, Jennette (15 September 2017). "Charlie Sheahan puts hand up for seat of Cootamundra". Cootamundra Herald. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
5. "First Preference Votes Report Parliamentary Election: Cootamundra". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
6. "State Electoral District of Cootamundra: Distribution of Preferences". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2017.

External links

• New South Wales Electoral Commission: Cootamundra State By-election
• ABC Elections: Cootamundra by-election