Liberal candidate Tim Wilson declares victory in Goldstein for second time after gaining 128 vote margin over Zoe Daniel

Liberal candidate Tim Wilson has declared victory for the highly-contested seat of Goldstein for a second time, after emerging as the leader by a margin of just 128 votes. Mr Wilson lost the seat in 2022 to Teal opponent Zoe Daniel, who declared victory on May 3 after early counting leaned heavily in her favour. But a surge in postal votes the following days swung the pendulum back into blue-ribbon territory, with the seat called for Mr Wilson on May 7. A full distribution of preferences will now be conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) which could result in the 0.06 per cent margin on the two-candidate count changing. Ms Daniel has refused to concede the seat despite initially claiming victory, insisting on waiting for the full distribution of preferences. In a statement to The Herald Sun, Mr Wilson said he felt an “incredible sense of gratitude and appreciation” to the Goldstein community. He also thanked his volunteers who “have done an amazing job ensuring we have defied political history in the milestones we’ve marked and political gravity in the context of the broader election result.” Mr Wilson claimed they were the first team to “defeat a Teal Independent MP – ever” and the first Liberal team in “110+ years to win a seat off an Independent MP elected a general election”. This has only ever been once before in Gippsland in 1913. He wished Zoe Daniel, her family and staff “all the best in their next chapter”, declaring the outcome was “unprecedented” and “historic”. “You’re all amazing. Congratulations!” The full distribution of preferences is expected to be completed by Thursday. In her own statement, Ms Daniel reiterated the margin for the seat of Goldstein was only 128 votes and a full distribution of preferences was yet to be completed. “We’ve come this far and it seems prudent to allow the Australian Electoral Commission to get on with finishing the job,” she said on Facebook. “Any consideration of a recount will occur after that.”