2019 Cheltenham state by-election

A by-election for the seat of Cheltenham in the South Australian House of Assembly was held on 9 February 2019.^[1] The by-election was triggered by the parliamentary resignation of Labor Party MP and former premier Jay Weatherill on 17 December 2018.^[2] Labor candidate Joe Szakacs retained the seat with an increased margin.^[3]

2019 Cheltenham state by-election

9 February 2019

First party Second party Third party   LDP GRN Candidate Joe Szakacs Peter Miller Steffi Medrow Party Labor Liberal Democrats Greens Popular vote 11,290 3,612 2,818 Percentage 58.6% 18.7% 14.6% Swing 6.2pp 18.7pp 8.3pp TPP 74.5% 25.5% TPP swing 8.7pp 25.5pp

Electoral district of Cheltenham in the north-western metropolitan area of Adelaide.

MP before election Jay Weatherill Labor Elected MP Joe Szakacs Labor

An Enfield by-election was held on the same day, as Weatherill's former deputy leader and deputy premier, John Rau, had also resigned from parliament.^[4]

Dates

Date	Event[1]
Friday 11 January 2019	Writ of election issued by the governor
Monday 21 January 2019	Close of electoral rolls (12 noon)
Thursday 24 January 2019	Close of nominations (12 noon)
Tuesday 29 January 2019	Start of early voting
Saturday 9 February 2019	Polling day (8am to 6pm)
Saturday 16 February 2019	Last day for receipt of postal votes
Friday 22 February 2019	Last day for return of writs

Candidates

Candidates (5) in ballot paper order[1]
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Miller	[1]
	Independent The Other Guy	Mike Lesiw	Contested Croydon at the previous state election.[1]
	Australian Labor Party	Joe Szakacs	SA Unions secretary, lawyer, professional swimmer.[1]
	The Greens	Steffi Medrow	Previous candidate.[1]
	Independent Adelaide Olympics 2032	Rob de Jonge	Real estate agent, former Onkaparinga councillor. Perennial candidate, has previously sought Liberal Party preselection.[1][5]

The Liberal Party declined to field a candidate for both the Cheltenham and Enfield by-elections.^[6]

Result

See also: Electoral results for the district of Cheltenham

Cheltenham state by-election, 9 February 2019^[7][8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Joe Szakacs	11,290	58.6	+6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Miller	3,612	18.7	+18.7
	Greens	Steffi Medrow	2,818	14.6	+8.3
	Independent Adelaide Olympics 2032	Rob de Jonge	877	4.5	+4.5
	Independent The Other Guy	Mike Lesiw	679	3.5	+3.5
Total formal votes			19,276	93.5	−1.4
Informal votes			1,338	6.5	+1.4
Turnout			20,614	78.1	−12.0
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Labor	Joe Szakacs	14,365	74.5	+8.7
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Miller	4,911	25.5	+25.5
	Labor hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• 2019 Enfield state by-election
• List of South Australian House of Assembly by-elections