Incumbent of the Te Tai Tokerau seat and Deputy Leader for the Labour Party, Kelvin Davis spoke to reporter Talisa Kupenga in the lead up to election results announcement.
Davis is well ahead of his competitors and currently has 6708 votes with more than 65% of booths counted.
His Corrections portfolio and the momentum of becoming Deputy Leader of a party on the rise has delivered high visibility and support for Davis across all age groups as the preferred candidate for Te Tai Tokerau.
Māori Television’s final poll of the Māori seats has Davis well ahead with more than double the support of the Mana Movement’s, Hone Harawira.
In the Māori seat of Te Tai Tokerau, Davis is holding court with 67.4% support as the preferred candidate. Harawira takes most of the remaining share at 30.3%, leaving the Greens Godfrey Rudolph well outside the kingdom on 2.3%.
Despite the polls, Harawira has been determined to make a comeback after losing the Tai Tokerau seat in the last election in 2014, heavily promoting his 2-for-1 campaign.
Harawira has called on the people of Te Tai Tokerau to support him and give him the member vote, saying a vote for Davis is a wasted vote as he will get in to Parliament regardless. Things have been heated between the candidates as Davis has rejected Harawira's 2-for-1 bid on multiple occasions.
The Te Taitokerau electorate covers from Te Rerenga Wairua in the North to Sunnyvale and stopping at the Auckland Harbour Bridge at its southern most point. From Bethells Beach in the west to Devonport, reaching to Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands in the East, it includes Kaitaia, Whangārei and parts of West Auckland.