McEwen electorate 2025: Rob Mitchell, Jason McClintock

Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell will keep his seat of McEwen. See how the votes played out.

9.50PM

Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell will keep his seat of McEwen.

Mitchell has 21,992 votes, 3345 more than the Liberal candidate Jason McClintock and is leading with a 2.63 per cent swing.

The AEC has counted 61,066 votes for the electorate with 58,209 formal and 2857 informal votes.

Greens candidate Marley McRae McLeod is third, with 7088 votes.

Mitchell worked as an apprentice bootmaker and finisher for five years in the ‘80s, in sales and marketing, and in diesel engine parts.

He resigned from the Victorian Legislative Council in 2006 before he pursued the McEwen seat and joined the House of Representatives in 2010, and was re-elected each term since. He served on multiple committees including the Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry from 2010 to 2013, and Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport from 2022 to now.

Meanwhile, Peter Dutton has made his concession speech after losing his race for the Dickson electorate, at the Liberal National Party function in Queensland.

9.15PM

The Labor Party will likely retain its seat on Melbourne’s northern fringe.

Nearly half of McEwen’s votes have been counted, and Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell has secured 17,003 votes so far. His closest competitor, Liberal candidate Jason McClintock is on 14,107 with a 2.21 per cent swing between them.

Twenty-seven of McEwen’s 56 polling places have returned votes, with 49.11 per cent of the ballot papers counted or 46,855 total votes.

8.29PM

The Labor incumbent at McEwen has surpassed 11,000 votes and achieved a comfortable lead against his closest competitor.

Rob Mitchell has reached 11,017 votes, while Liberal candidate Jason McClintock is at 8922. Mitchell has a 1.9 per cent swing so far with 30,869 votes counted for the electorate.

7.55PM

A 1000 vote margin has opened up between Labor and Liberal at McEwen.

Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell is leading the count with 5410 votes and a 2.08 per cent swing. Liberal candidate Jason Mitchell is following with 4388 votes.

There have been 15,250 votes counted for McEwen so far, with 14,477 formal votes and 773 informal.

7.35PM

McEwen is turning into a finger-biting contest, with fewer than 200 votes between the major candidates.

More than 4500 votes have been counted and Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell remains in the lead on 1587, while Liberal Party candidate Jason McClintock trails closely behind on 1356 votes.

The Greens candidate Marley McRae McLeod is the next-highest but by a wide margin, with 621 votes.

7.04PM

Labor candidate and current McEwen MP Rob Mitchell is leading the early count with 552 votes, while close competitor and Liberal candidate Jason McClintock follows with 533.

Greens candidate Marley McRae McLeod follows with 180, One Nation candidate Jeremy Johnson has 83, and Legalise Cannibis Party’s Tom Forrest has 60.

The electorate has 117,940 people enrolled, and 1356 votes have been counted so far.

Mitchell, 57, was first elected to the seat in 2010.

Liberal candidate Jason McClintock, a Christmas tree farm owner, says his focuses included reinvigorating the economy, controlling inflation, dropping interest rates and easing cost of living pressures.

Other candidates included Fusion’s Erin McGrath, Animal Justice Party’s Chloe Nicolosi, Family First’s Julio Valencia, and Gerard Rennick People First’s Ali Antoniou.

The electorate has beef and dairy herds, wool growing, market gardening, viticulture, various small businesses and tourism.

6.07PM

One of Victoria’s fastest-growing regions will be the hot spot for a tight race between red and blue on Saturday, as McEwen candidates vie to seal the deal.

The top-vying candidates for the marginal electorate are current seat holder Rob Mitchell, Labor, and Liberal Party candidate Jason McClintock.

Mr Mitchell was first elected in 2010 with 14 years in the seat, and won the 2022 election with a margin of 3.8 per cent or 6277 votes. The Coalition has held the seat in 1990, and between 1996-2010.

Party leaders considered this electorate as key to their campaigns; Peter Dutton visited McEwen three times, particularly promoting the Coalition’s 25c a litre fuel excised discount, while Anthony Albanese visited once.

The McEwen electorate boundaries changed in 2022 and covered 2288 square kilometres, including Gisborne, Macedon, Woodend, Wallan, Donnybrook, Whittlesea, Plenty and Diamond Creek, but excluding Kilmore residents who historically had Labor preference.

McEwen voters primarily work in health, education, retail or trade, with many farmers operating on Melbourne’s fringe in grazing and horticulture.