Taranaki-King Country by-election 1998
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The Taranaki-King Country by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Taranaki-King Country, a large and predominantly rural district in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It took place on 2 May 1998, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of siting MP Jim Bolger. Bolger was retiring from politics, having recently been replaced as Prime Minister by Jenny Shipley.
The by-election was contested by all major parties. It was won by Shane Ardern, a member of Bolger's National Party, although Ardern gained a majority of only 998 votes (Bolger had a majority of over 10,000). Surprisingly, second place was won by Owen Jennings of the ACT party, a small party that promotes economic deregulation and other laissez-faire economic policies. The Labour Party, National's traditional opponent, was pushed back into third place. The Alliance, a left-wing party, gained fourth place. Some distance behind these four were Christian Heritage, New Zealand First, and the Greens, all with similar numbers of votes. They were followed by a group of minor parties and independents.
[edit] Results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
| Shane Ardern | National Party | 5,953 | 29.43% |
| Owen Jennings | ACT | 4,965 | 24.55% |
| Max Purnell | Labour Party | 3,546 | 17.53% |
| Kevin Campbell | Alliance | 3,208 | 15.86% |
| Ewen McQueen | Christian Heritage Party | 561 | 2.77% |
| Robin Ord | New Zealand First | 560 | 2.77% |
| Cindy McDonald | Green Party | 503 | 2.49% |
| Michael Appleby | Legalise Cannabis Party | 393 | 1.94% |
| Pauline Gardiner | United Party | 127 | 0.63% |
| Doug Wilson | (independent) | 127 | 0.63% |
| Paull Cooke | McGillicuddy Serious Party | 76 | 0.38% |
| Brett Power | (independent) | 56 | 0.28% |
| Alistar McKellow | Animals First | 49 | 0.24% |
| Greg Walker | (independent) | 32 | 0.16% |
| Avon James Harris | Social Credit NZ | 17 | 0.08% |
| Tony Martin | Natural Law Party | 17 | 0.08% |
| Victor Bryers | (independent) | 15 | 0.07% |
| Robert Terry | Youth Independence Party | 10 | 0.05% |
| Mary Gilmore | Mana Wahine | 7 | 0.03% |
| R Dell | NZ Progressive Party | 3 | 0.01% |
