KEY POINTS:
They see Judith Tizard driving down the street and out shopping - and know her rival Nikki Kaye as "that young thing".
Days out from the general election, a Herald poll of 100 voters in the Auckland Central electorate suggests Labour's long-held grip on the seat seems to remain in place - despite the popular dinner party debate that National may have finally cracked the electorate.
Kaye appeals to its young voters, living in the expensive inner-city suburbs of Herne Bay, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn.
The survey - conducted over the last two days with a sample largely representative of the electorate population in age, gender and ethnicity - also found surprisingly strong support for the Green Party's Denise Roche.
Tizard, who has held Auckland Central since 1996, was well-known, with 57 per cent naming her when asked who was standing.
She remained a voter favourite with 42 per cent indicating they intended to tick next to Tizard's name.
Carol View, 63, from Ponsonby's Women's Bookshop liked Tizard "because she reads".
"I know for a fact she does. She comes in for books."
Her presence in the electorate was noted by other voters as well.
"I would vote National but you always see Judith Tizard," Kane Kete, 22, told the Herald on Karangahape Road.
"She drives up and down here all the time. I don't even know who the National candidate is."
National's Kaye, a 28-year-old businesswoman and relative newcomer to politics, was recognised by fewer people than Tizard around the electorate, with 29 per cent naming her when asked who was standing.
Luke Gowing, 38, of Westmere picked the candidate's name as "Vicki", then "Jackie" before finally settling on the correct answer.
Kaye appealed to some who could relate to her.
"It's nice to see a young woman a couple of years older than myself," said Grey Lynn's Amy Madden, 26, who volunteered to help Kaye with her campaign after running into her at a local shopping centre.
Kaye polled lower in the study than her Labour competitor who is 24 years her senior as well, with 19 per cent intending to put a tick next to her name - behind Roche from the Greens on 22 per cent.
While Tizard's longevity was a plus in the minds of some voters, others questioned if she had become complacent.
Herne Bay's Teressa Allen, 34 and intending to split her vote between Roche and Labour, said she had grown up knowing that the Tizard family was in politics but she was unsure if Judith Tizard had contributed enough recently.
"I don't know if they've moved with the times," she said.
Sitting MP: Judith Tizard (Labour)
Age: 52
Background: Former restaurant owner with politics in her blood. Member of Auckland Electric Power Board and Auckland Regional Council before becoming MP for Panmure (1990-1996). MP for Auckland Central since 1999. Junior Government minister since 1999.
Main challenger: Nikki Kaye (National)
Age: 28
Background: Businesswoman and entrant in Coast to Coast marathon.
Also showing well: Denise Roche (Green)
Background: A Waiheke Island resident and Auckland City councillor.
