CLP 3.1%
Incumbent MP
Peter Styles, since 2008.
Geography
Northern suburbs of Darwin. Sanderson covers the suburbs of Marrara, Wagaman and Walagi in northern Darwin.
Redistribution
No change.
History
The electorate of Sanderson was created in 1974 for the first Northern Territory assembly election. The seat has alternated back and forth between Labor and the Country Liberal Party.
Liz Andrew first won Sanderson for the CLP in 1974. Andrew served in the Education portfolio in the first NT Assembly (not strictly as a minister as the NT had not yet gained self-government).
Andrew was replaced by Labor’s June D’Rozario in 1977. She held Sanderson for Labor for two terms, until 1983, when she lost to Country Liberal candidate Daryl Manzie.
Manzie served five terms as Member for Sanderson, retiring in 2001.
Labor’s Len Kiely won Sanderson in 2001 in the absence of an incumbent MP. Kiely held Sanderson for two terms, serving as a minister from 2007 until he lost his seat at the 2008 election to CLP candidate Peter Styles.
Styles has held Sanderson for two terms, serving as a minister in the CLP government for the last few years. He has served as Deputy Chief Minister since February 2016.
Candidates
- Kate Worden (Labor)
- Andrew Arthur (Independent)
- Trudi Andersson (1 Territory)
- Peter Styles (Country Liberal)
- Thomas Lynch
Assessment
Styles has held Sanderson for two terms, including in harder times for the CLP. He gained very little swing in 2012, which suggests that this seat is likely to swing wildly. If the CLP is on track for a small number of losses, Styles will likely hold on, but he’ll find it tough to hold on if Labor sweeps to power.
2012 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Peter Styles | Country Liberal | 2,214 | 50.9 | -4.3 |
| Jodie Green | Labor | 1,872 | 43.0 | -1.8 |
| Jillian Briggs | Sex Party | 176 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Dimitrious Magriplis | First Nations | 90 | 2.1 | +2.1 |
| Informal | 132 | 2.9 |
2012 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Peter Styles | Country Liberal | 2,311 | 53.1 | -2.0 |
| Jodie Green | Labor | 2,041 | 46.9 | +2.0 |
Booth breakdown
There are three booths contained in the current boundaries of Sanderson: Anula, Wagaman and Wulagi.
The Country Liberal Party won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in Anula (51.6%) and Wulagi (54.2%). Labor won a slim 50.5% majority in Wagaman, the smallest of the booths.
The Country Liberal Party won a solid 56.5% majority in the pre-poll vote and 55.8% in the other votes.
| Voter group | CLP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Anula | 51.6 | 1,485 | 34.1 |
| Wulagi | 54.2 | 1,040 | 23.9 |
| Wagaman | 49.5 | 659 | 15.1 |
| Pre-poll | 56.5 | 494 | 11.4 |
| Other votes | 55.8 | 674 | 15.5 |