Labour candidate for Whanganui Hamish McDouall has at least savoured one small victory over his National Party rival Chester Borrows.
Among Whanganui candidates, Mr McDouall topped the exit poll at Friday night's 'Meet the Candidates' forum.
The 300-strong audience at the War Memorial Centre were each given a voting slip listing the Whanganui and Te Tai Hauauru candidates and asked to make their choice as they left the meeting.
The results may well reflect the partisanship of those who attended as much as the quality of each candidate's presentation as Mr McDouall edged out Nancy Tuaine from the Maori Party, with incumbent MP Mr Borrows a distant third.
The Maori Party did very well in the poll, with Chris McKenzie getting the top vote of the night and heading the Te Tai Hauauru standings ahead of Labour's Adrian Rurawhe.