Bendigo votes: Nationals’ Andrew Lethlean in battle with Labor’s Lisa Chesters

Bendigo has become a key surprise of election night, with the Nationals candidate mounting a strong challenge against a four-term Labor incumbent.

Bendigo Nationals candidate Andrew Lethlean and federal party leader David Littleproud outside the Bendigo Central polling booth on Saturday.

Bendigo has become a key surprise of election night, with the Nationals candidate mounting a strong challenge against a four-term Labor incumbent.

Chesters, who was first elected in 2013 and holds the seat with an 11.2 per cent margin, faced a bold bid from Bendigo-born businessman Andrew Lethlean. Backed by a heavily resourced campaign — estimated to have cost up to $600,000 — Lethlean’s challenge appears to have caught Labor off guard.

At Bendigo’s largest polling booth on election day morning, Nationals volunteers reportedly outnumbered Labor’s six to two.

With 57 of 61 polling places returned, Lisa Chesters is leading with 15,678 primary votes (34.12 per cent) to Andrew Lethlean’s 11,582 (25.2 per cent), The Greens’ Avery Barnett-Dacey’s 6915 (15.05 per cent) and Matt Evans from the Liberals with 4091 (8.9 per cent).

The primary vote swing against Ms Chesters is currently 7.28 per cent.

The Bendigo electorate covers 6178 square kilometres and takes in the Greater Bendigo City Council, Mount Alexander Shire Council, and part of the Campaspe, Macedon Ranges and Mitchell shire councils.

Labor has held the seat since 1998, with Ms Chesters elected at the 2013 federal election. Although held by the Liberals from 1972 and 1983 and from 1990 and 1998, the electorate has not been held by the Nationals — then the Country Party — since 1949.