NAT 21.1%
Incumbent MP
Emma Kealy, since 2014.
Western Victoria. Lowan covers the towns of Casterton, Coleraine, Dartmoor, Dimboola, Hamilton, Horsham, Jeparit, Kaniva, Nhill and Rainbow. Lowan covers western parts of Victoria along the South Australian border, covering Hindmarsh, Horsham, Southern Grampians and West Wimmera local government areas, and parts of Ararat, Glenelg, Moyne, Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack local government areas.
Redistribution
Lowan expanded to the east, taking in Stawell from Ripon and Mortlake from Polwarth. These changes reduced the Nationals margin from 23.5% to 21.1%.
Lowan was first created as an electoral district in 1889. It has existed for most of the last 121 years, with the exception of two periods when the seat was abolished for a decade before being restored, from 1945-1955 and from 1992-2002. Apart from a few periods of the seat going to the Liberals in the 1960s and 1970s, the seat has been held by the Country/National Party since 1920.
Jim McGrath of the Liberal Party won the seat in 1964, the first non-Country Party member since 1920. He held the seat for one term, losing in 1967 to the Country Party’s Ray Buckley, but he won the seat back in 1970. McCabe held the seat until his defeat in 1979.
The seat was won in 1979 by the Nationals’ Bill McGrath. He moved to the seat of Wimmera when Lowan was abolished in a redistribution. He served as a minister in the Kennett government from 1992 to 1999, and retired at the 1999 election.
Wimmera was won in 1999 by Hugh Delahunty, who won Lowan in 2002 when Wimmera was abolished. Delahunty was re-elected in 2006 and 2010.
Delahunty retired in 2014, and was succeeded by Nationals candidate Emma Kealy, who was re-elected in 2018.
- Richard Etherton (Angry Victorians)
- Emma Kealy (Nationals)
- Tamasin Ramsay (Animal Justice)
- Robert Coleman (Family First)
- Amanda Mead (Independent)
- Mick Monaghan (Labor)
- Richard Lane (Greens)
Assessment
Lowan is a very safe Nationals seat.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Emma Kealy | Nationals | 25,562 | 66.9 | +12.8 | 57.9 |
| Maurice Billi | Labor | 7,681 | 20.1 | +1.5 | 22.0 |
| Barry Shea | Independent | 2,470 | 6.5 | +6.5 | 5.7 |
| Richard Lane | Greens | 2,040 | 5.3 | -3.2 | 5.3 |
| Trevor Grenfell | Socialists | 434 | 1.1 | +1.1 | 1.2 |
| Others | 8.1 | ||||
| Informal | 2,002 | 5.0 | +0.5 |
2018 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Emma Kealy | Nationals | 28,067 | 73.5 | +2.2 | 71.1 |
| Maurice Billi | Labor | 10,129 | 26.5 | -2.2 | 28.9 |
Booths have been divided into four areas: Horsham, north, south and west.
The Nationals won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all four areas, ranging from 65.8% in the south to 81.8% in the west.
| Voter group | NAT 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| South | 65.8 | 10,055 | 22.8 |
| Horsham | 73.6 | 5,207 | 11.8 |
| North | 76.9 | 5,108 | 11.6 |
| West | 81.8 | 2,030 | 4.6 |
| Pre-poll | 72.3 | 15,811 | 35.8 |
| Other votes | 64.7 | 5,933 | 13.4 |
Election results in Lowan at the 2018 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for the Nationals and Labor.
Still no Labor candidate announced?
In 2018 they didn’t announce candidates in some of the rural ultra-safe National seats until a few days before nominations closed. I suspect the same might happen here again.
Labor could preselect the pope and the Nats would still win here lol
Very true @Ham. Surprised no serious independent challenge has popped up here.