INDEPENDENT candidate Kirsty O'Connell says she is proud to have "changed the conversation" during the by-election campaign and won more than eight per cent of the primary vote.
"We really had no idea what to expect, it could have been zero. We thought we would be fairly strong in the Upper Hunter LGA and we were. In parts of that our primary vote was 30 per cent; at Wingen - it's a shame they didn't have a couple of more zeros in terms of population," she said on Sunday.
RELATED READING:
- 'People of the Upper Hunter have given me their trust': Nats David Layzell
- Jeff Drayton concedes to Nationals, says Labor needs to 'do some real soul searching'
- 'Thank you, Malcolm': Barilaro taunts Turnbull as Nats close on victory
- Federal ALP plays down Hunter by-election result
"We had high-teens in Scone, Aberdeen and were strong in Quirindi. Areas where farmers are concerned about that balance."
Much like other candidates, Ms O'Connell said she failed to snare the "big numbers to be had in Singleton".
She said by claiming 8.8 per cent of the primary vote, it should go someway to proving her endorsement from Malcolm Turnbull wasn't a "kiss of death" as described by Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
The fifth-generation farmer said she would likely run again.
