2015 Davenport state by-election
# 2015 Davenport state by-election

A by-election for the seat of Davenport in the South Australian House of Assembly was held on 31 January 2015. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Party of Australia MP and former Liberal leader Iain Evans, who retained the seat at the 2014 election on a 58.1 (−2.8) percent two-party-preferred vote. Liberal Sam Duluk went on to win the seat despite a five-point two-party swing, turning the historically safe seat of Davenport in to a marginal for the first time.

The by-election was held on the same day as the 2015 Queensland state election.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 3 January 2015 | Writ of election issued by the Governor |
| 13 January 2015 | Close of electoral rolls |
| 16 January 2015 | Close of nominations |
| 31 January 2015 | Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm |

## Candidates

5 candidates in ballot paper order :

| Liberal Party of Australia | Sam Duluk | Accountant. Liberal candidate for seat of Fisher at the previous election. |
| - | - | - |
| Family First Party | Natasha Edmonds | Family First candidate for Davenport at the previous election. |
| Independent Australian Democrats | Jeanie Walker | Involved in property investing and management and is an Aboriginal Family Violence Case Manager. Contested the 2014 Fisher by-election. |
| Australian Labor Party | Mark Ward | City of Mitcham councillor for last eight years, has served as Deputy Mayor. Urrbrae Agricultural High School teacher. Centennial Park Cemetery board member. |
| Greens | Jody Moate | Retail sector worker. Volunteers with numerous community groups. |

## Result

Davenport state by-election, 31 January 2015 :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Sam Duluk | 9,740 | 46.9 | −4.1 |
| | Labor | Mark Ward | 6,927 | 33.4 | +4.8 |
| | Greens | Jody Moate | 2,584 | 12.5 | −2.8 |
| | Family First | Natasha Edmonds | 816 | 3.9 | −1.2 |
| | Independent Democrat | Jeanie Walker | 685 | 3 | +3.3 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 20,752 | 97.1 | −0.7 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 613 | 2.9 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,365 | 85.7 | −7.7 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Sam Duluk | 11,021 | 53.1 | −5.0 |
| | Labor | Mark Ward | 9,731 | 46.9 | +5.0 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −5.0 | |

Liberal Sam Duluk won the seat with a -4.1 point swing, with the Liberal party failing to win outright and relying on preferences. South Australian Newspoll at the time of the Davenport by-election recorded a statewide seven percent two-party swing from Liberal to Labor. ABC election analyst Antony Green described the Davenport by-election as "another poor result for the South Australian Liberal Party" following the 2014 Fisher by-election which saw Labor go from minority to majority government following a 7.3 percent two-party swing. As with the Fisher by-election, much of the anti-Liberal swing was attributed to the unpopularity of then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and a remark from then Defence Minister David Johnston several days before the Fisher by-election that he wouldn't trust South Australia's Australian Submarine Corporation to "build a canoe". Additionally, just a couple of days before the Davenport by-election, Abbott's infamous knighting of Prince Philip occurred.

