In the Body Shop, Siobhan and Laura are delighted to meet her. "Very exciting!" She hands over the leaflet and they look at the photo of grinning candidates. The party recently replaced billboard images of Craig with a rather frightening glare on his face for a more smiley image. Laura approves. "He did look a bit scarey-eye. But I love the smile." Both say they are considering voting Conservative.
You need intestinal fortitude to be a Conservative. Nobody is rude, but people scuttle determinedly by with their heads down, refusing to take pamphlets. One man takes a very wide berth of Craig and his pamphlets. Craig says a few do that. "It's okay. A lot just aren't interested."
Some say, "Hello, Colin", as they scuttle past. One man says he's voting National but Vote Compass told him he was Conservative. "I don't know why, though." Craig is confident the man will turn. "I always look at people like that as long-term voters."
Rankin rips down the street at pace, handing out her brochures. Craig says admiringly, "She's really good at this. Years of campaigning."
Most people are polite to their faces. Katie lives in Kohimarama, which isn't in Epsom. Rankin urges her to consider the party vote and moves on. Asked about the Conservatives, Katie looks over at Craig, covers her mouth and says apologetically, "He seems a bit of a dweeb, to be honest. Sorry. I'm sure he's very nice."
Craig hits pay dirt with Don, a painter. Don likes the Conservatives. Afterwards, we retire for a cup of tea. It is tradition on the stumps in Epsom. Rankin gets English Breakfast, Craig peppermint. He used to drink 16 cups of tea a day. He's now caffeine free.
There is increasing speculation about whether Key should signal to some voters to flick a vote the Conservatives' way to ensure they scrape in. Craig says he is yet to hear from him, and hopes he doesn't. "If we are doing really well, why would we complicate it?"
They claim Garth McVicar is doing well in Napier and Rankin is pushing for the Epsom vote even if that risks disrupting Act's hold on the seat. National's recent polling there has Act's David Seymour on 45 per cent with National's Paul Goldsmith on 37 - fairly slim, but an indication Key's nod to Epsom voters has been heard. Rankin is way back on 5 per cent.
Craig says if National does end up needing the Conservatives, he doesn't necessarily want a ministerial post.
He also claims he isn't offended by Key's refusal to say whether he would prefer to work with NZ First leader Winston Peters or Craig. Peters has spent much of the campaign criticising Craig. Nor is there much love between the Conservatives and Act. Asked what he will do if his party doesn't make it, Craig says he'll simply try again in 2017, despite the cost of two campaigns. That's why they're the party with "intestinal fortitude".
Edging closer
The Conservative Party is within a whisker of the 5 per cent threshold in the latest TV3 poll, sitting on 4.7 per cent, up 0.5 points, but its rival party New Zealand First remains over it, at 5.9 per cent. NZ First would have seven MPs and the Conservatives would have none unless they won an electorate seat. National is up slightly to 46.7 per cent but could not govern alone. It could govern with a bare majority if all its current support partners - Act, United Future and the Maori Party - each kept an electorate seat. But National could form a government comfortably with just NZ First. Labour is up a little to 26.1 per cent but would be one seat short of a majority if it had the support of the Greens, Internet-Mana, New Zealand First and the Maori Party.
