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| Adam Carr's Election Archive
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Victorian state election, 28 November 2026
Bendigo East District
Location: East Bendigo, Epsom, Strathfieldsaye
Legislative Council:
Northern Victoria Region
Enrolment 2022 election: 53,134
Enrolment June 2026: 55,560 (up 4.6%)
Relevant demographics (2021 census)
High income: 16.9% (Aust average 22.6%)
Renting: 25.4% (Aust average 30.6%)
Paying a mortgage: 37.0% (Aust average 35.0%)
Couples with children: 56.0% (Aust average 43.7%)
Born overseas: 9.4% (Aust average 27.7%)
No religion: 47.2% (Aust average 38.9%)
University graduate: 21.6% (Aust average 26.3%)
Professional / managerial: 34.4% (Aust average 37.7%)
Sitting member: Hon Jacinta Allan Labor): Elected 1999, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022. Retiring 2026
Born 19 September 1973, Bendigo. Educated La Trobe University. Staffer for Steve Gibbons MHR and Neil O'Keefe MHR. Elected 1999, aged 25. Minister in the Bracks-Brumby government 2002-10. Shadow minister 2010-14. Minister in the Andrews government from 2014, from 2018 as Minister for Public Transport and for Major Projects. Deputy Premier 2022-23, Premier October 2023 to July 2026.
Status: Fairly safe Labor
2018 Labor majority over Liberal: 12.1%
2022 Labor majority over Liberal: 10.9%
Bendigo East was created in 1985, when the old seats of Bendigo and Midlands were abolished and new seats of Bendigo East and West were created. Bendigo East takes in the eastern parts of the city of Bendigo, the satellite towns of Eaglehawk and Strathfieldsaye, and some rural areas. Like all country seats, it is very monocultural, with low levels of graduates and high-income earners. Bendigo is a regional administrative and economic hub and a major tourism centre, increasingly colonised by exurbanites from Melbourne.
These trends have made the area increasingly solid for Labor. The Liberals have not won a Bendigo seat, state or federal, since 1996. The first member for Bendigo East was Michael John, a minister in the Kennett government. He was defeated by Jacinta Allan in Labor's 1999 sweep of the Victorian regional seats. She then held the seat for 27 years without much difficulty.
Allen was on the Labor frontbench continuously from 2002 until she succeeded Daniel Andrews as Premier in 2023. In July 2026, faced with a mounting union corruption scandal, centred mainly on decisions she made as minister, she resigned as Premier. In August she announced that she would not recontest the seat. Labor will have an uphill battle to retain it against a prominent Nationals candidate. The Liberals are not contesting the seat.
Tim Rickwood, the new Labor candidate, is a secondary teacher in Bendigo.
The Nationals candidate is Andrew Lethlean, a publican, who came close to winning the federal seat of Bendigo in 2025.
2022 results
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Boundaries following
2021 redistricting |
See full-size map
Candidates:
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Cheryl Hawken
One Nation |
Andrew Lethlean
The Nationals |
Denali Norsen
Victorian Socialists |
Tim Rickwood
Labor Party |
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Michael Tolhurst
Australian Greens |
Liz Wright
Independent |
Candidate websites
Cheryl Hawken (One Nation)
Andrew Lethlean (Nationals)
Denali Norsen (Vic Socialists)
Tim Rickwood (Labor)
Michael Tolhurst (Greens)
Liz Wright (Independent)
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