Calare gave its incumbent member a resounding endorsement on Saturday, with The Nationals recording a 7.78 per cent swing towards it, one of the largest towards any candidate in the state.
On a two party preferred basis, Mr Cobb won a thumping 61.24 per cent of the vote compared to 38.76 per cent for Labor’s Kevin Duffy.
In Canowindra itself, the swing towards Cobb was even stronger.
According to official figures from the Australian Electoral Commission, Labor candidate and current Cabonne Mayor Kevin Duffy suffered a strong negative swing at Canowindra.
Mr Duffy felt a swing of -5.46. while the Nationals’ John Cobb gained more than 10 per cent.
Mr Cobb said on Monday to the Central Western Daily he was surprised by the size of his victory.
“What can I say, it exceeded anything I’d expected,” Mr Cobb said.
The local result was decisive but the same can’t be said nationally, with the first hung Parliament in 70 years.
Should Tony Abbott form a minority government, it would be the first time since 1993 Calare has a local member who is also a member of government.
A return to power at a national level is a tantalising prospect for Mr Cobb.
“Well, sit on the frontbench in opposition for three years and watch everything you worked for in the previous decade frittered away.
“There’s no better incentive to get in there and try to change the government.”
As support for The Nationals in Calare grew on Saturday, it evaporated for Labor.
At the 2007 election, Labor polled 46.54 per cent of the two party preferred vote in an electorate made up of far more conservative ground than the current one.
The Nationals beat Labor in 95 of the 109 polling booths throughout the electorate.
“If Australia thought about things the same way country people do I wouldn’t be in much doubt about which way this election would have gone,” Mr Cobb said.
“This election was much more clear cut [than 2007]. It was us or them.
“I was able to fight on the issues and it looks like Calare has agreed with me.”
With 102 of 109 polling places counted, (ON MONDAY) Greens candidate Jeremy Buckingham has placed third with 4092 first preference votes followed by independent Paul Blanch with 3270.
Independent Karen Romano secured 2765 first preferences, Jessyka Norsworthy from the Christian Democratic Party 1525 votes and independent Macgregor Ross 1382.
Kevin Duffy has joined his Labor colleagues around the country in blaming the ousting of former prime minister Kevin Rudd for the swing against the party on Saturday.
Mr Duffy picked up just under 30 per cent of the primary vote in Calare, representing a swing against Labor of 7.8 per cent on a two party preferred basis.
While he said he was not surprised about the result for Labor in Calare, Mr Duffy had expected the Nationals’ primary vote to be smaller and the independents to pick up more.
“I’m not surprised by the Labor Party vote of about 30 per cent but I thought the independents would have performed a bit better. I thought they’d get between 8000 and 15,000 votes each,” he said.
He congratulated The Nationals’ John Cobb on a “decisive win”.With the spectre of the former prime minister haunting the campaign from day one, Mr Duffy said Labor had struggled to push its message.
“I probably wasn’t surprised to start with, but when you sit back and weigh things up this election wasn’t about the National Broadband Network, it wasn’t about education, it wasn’t about health, it wasn’t about the economy.
“I think it was about people being unhappy with the way the Labor party treats its leaders.
“There do need to be questions asked,” he said.
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