For 14 years, the East Coast electorate of Tukituki has been considered a safe National seat, but with Labour flying high in the polls some are hoping this could be the year Labour finally gets ahead.
And one community could tip the balance.
Tukituki's Labour candidate Anna Lorck senses a scalp.
“I think it’s incredibly tight,” she told 1 NEWS.
She’s been campaigning in Flaxmere, mega hailer in hand, hoping to ride Labour's current wave of support into Parliament.
The electorate has been a National stronghold since 2002, but after Lorck became the Labour candidate in 2014, the gap has narrowed.
Last election there were fewer than 3000 votes between the candidates.
“We’ve been increasing the Flaxmere Labour vote over the last two elections. We know there is another 1500 Labour votes in here we just have to make sure that people know where to go to vote.”
In the past elections, Flaxmere has had low voter turnout - that’s why the Electoral Commission has set up an extra three advanced voting places around the suburb, as well as an extra polling booth will be open on election day.
The incumbent, National's Lawrence Yule, is also fighting hard.
I’ve had three years, I know the system now and effectively this electorate will start getting real value from me in a Parliamentary sense because in the first three years you’ve really got your trainer wheels on," he told 1 NEWS from the campaign trail in central Hastings.
He's promising the old Hawke's Bay hospital will be upgraded in 2025 and wants an independent review of the DHB.
“That would be the single biggest issue the DHB financial performance is falling off a cliff the elective surgery waiting list is growing and growing.”
But Lorck believes the region can’t wait till 2025.
“We need to make sure we are on with the hospital rebuild now, not in five years time,” she said.
However, 1 NEWS spokes to people in Flaxmere. They're after simpler things, with housing, employment and looking after the needy as the top priorities.
But one local said the person who fills the role needs to first and foremost care about the community.
“Someone who really has their heart in Flaxmere.”
Flaxmere is a village that could become a key player in deciding the fate of the two candidates.
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