Mr Draper made his concession speech at Tamworth’s Courthouse Hotel shortly before 8.30pm on Saturday as it became clear Nationals incumbent Kevin Anderson’s lead had become too big to overcome.

But while admitting he was disappointed the campaign had ended in defeat, he believed his candidacy had refocused much-needed attention on the electorate of Tamworth.

“I feel vindicated and I’m really pleased I put my hand up,” Mr Draper said on Saturday night.

“I’ve created an enormous amount of angst within the National Party and made them empty their wallets quite substantially.”

Mr Draper said it was always going to be a difficult task to reclaim the seat he held from 2003 to 2011, given Mr Anderson’s primary vote of more than 54 per cent at the last election. 

But he believed he secured enough support to show there were issues people were concerned about and he challenged The Nationals to follow through with their campaign promises.

“(It’s) shown The Nationals that they can’t be complacent, they can’t take us for granted. And while we weren’t successful, what we’ve accomplished is that the focus has been on our community very much from decision-makers in government for the last six to eight weeks,” Mr Draper said.

“(There’s) been lots of promises and lots of cheque books and we expect to see more of that in the future.”

He also ruled out running again in another four years, saying he was looking forward to returning to his job as a driving instructor.

“Six months ago I had absolutely no intention of doing this,” Mr Draper said.

“I’d built a very nice little business and was enjoying doing what I was doing with that. To park it on the side of the road and leave it, and refer new clients to opposition companies, was difficult for me.

“I’m looking forward to getting back and re-establishing relationships with kids across the district and helping them get their driver’s licences.”