The Country Party has been a force in the region since it first won the seat in 1920, and has remained a safe seat for the Country/National Party since – with the exception of the odd independent.

Former MP and deputy prime minister, and current Nats’ candidate, Barnaby Joyce is just one of the latest political titans to come out of the electorate. 

Nationals stalwart, Ian Sinclair, represented the seat for 35 years, from 1963 to 1998. He served as a senior minister under three Prime Ministers, watched his party transition from the Country Party to the National Party, and was party leader from 1983 to 1989.

Stuart St. Clair succeed Mr Sinclair, but his reign only lasted one term, with former Nats member Tony Windsor taking the seat as an independent.

Mr Windsor who had previously served as Tamworth MP in the NSW parliament for 10 years, emerged as another political heavyweight and went on to hold the seat until 2013, when he decided to retire.

Mr Joyce then stepped into the fold in 2013, easily winning the seat after stepping down from his Queensland Senate position, which he had held for eight years. In 2016, he was elected Nationals leader and took on the mantle of Deputy Prime Minister. Later that year, he comfortably fought off an election challenge from Mr Windsor to retain the seat.

While Labor has struggled to get a foothold in the seat, it has been represented by a Labor MP once – from 1906 to 1913.