Alex Dyson falls short in Wannon as Dan Tehan looms as potential Liberal leader

Teal independent Alex Dyson concedes his well-funded attempt to snare the seat of Wannon is unlikely to succeed, with Dan Tehan now being discussed as a potential Liberal leader after Peter Dutton was ousted from parliament.

Dan Tehan has retained Wannon after a tough battle and could now become Liberal leader. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman.

Teal independent Alex Dyson concedes his well-funded attempt to snare the seat of Wannon from Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan is unlikely to succeed.

Having seemingly fought off the campaign against him, Mr Tehan’s name is now being floated as a possible successor to Peter Dutton as Liberal leader, although the man himself is keeping his cards close to his chest.

“I haven’t had any time to think about the future … you need time to consider, time to think and get an understanding of what has occurred,” he said on election night.

In his third attempt at victory in an electorate that spans from Anglesea in the east to the South Australian border, Mr Dyson told supporters who had gathered at a Warrnambool sporting club on Saturday night that “it is not looking likely we will get up”.

Nonetheless, Dyson has marginalised the once blue-ribbon seat and put the region’s issues on the national political map.

Wannon candidate Alex Dyson casting his vote at Warrnambool Primary School on Saturday. Picture: Supplied.

With more than 80 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Tehan holds a 3.5 per cent lead on a two-party basis.

The Liberal primary vote of 44.1 per cent is unchanged from 2002, while Mr Dyson’s vote jumped significantly to 32.1 per cent, but the gain has come at the expense of Labor and the Greens, rather than Mr Tehan.

Mr Dyson said the victory of the night was that the his team “have not wavered on our morals”.

“We need to keep being the changes that we want to see in the world every day,” he said.

“That is how we’re going to achieve this momentous change.”

While Mr Tehan, an MP since 2010 and the Coalition’s immigration spokesman under Mr Dutton, does not have the profile of other potential Liberal leaders such as Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie, he is a well respected and hard working member.

His mother, Marie Tehan, spent 12 years in the Victorian parliament and served as health minister in the Kennett government.

Wannon is dominated by primary industries, but boundary changes have introduced more urban folk from southern coastal areas.

Originally published as Alex Dyson falls short in Wannon as Dan Tehan looms as potential Liberal leader