In 2008, National enjoyed 44.9% of the party vote. To increase that to 47.3% this election should be a more than satisfactory result for the National Party. Leading up to the election, National were consistently polling over 50%, but a drop-off was expected as media scrutiny naturally increased throughout the election period.
For their campaign, National led a simple 5-point "brighter future" plan, which included policy around rebuilding Christchurch, and had John Key at the fore of their advertising. Their policy to sell down assets was hotly debated across the Country, opposition parties attempted to gain traction on the back of the Rena grounding, and Labour's Phil Goff put up a reasonable challenge to Key in the televised debates. But ultimately, Key and the National Party ended the campaign on top, earning the right to re-from the Government for another term.
So let's take a look at where their support came from, in terms of party vote by Electorate. Note that the following analysis is based 2008 data and preliminary results from the 2011 election.
Biggest Party Vote by Electorate
| Rank | Electorate | Candidate | Party (%) | Change |
| 1 | Helensville | KEY, John | 66.46 | n/c |
| 2 | Epsom | GOLDSMITH, Paul | 65.58 | n/c |
| 3 | Tamaki | O'CONNOR, Simon | 65.23 | 3 |
| 4 | Clutha-Southland | ENGLISH, Bill | 63.18 | 3 |
| 5 | East Coast Bays | McCULLY, Murray | 63.16 | -2 |
| 6 | Hunua | HUTCHISON, Paul | 63.09 | -1 |
| 7 | Pakuranga | WILLIAMSON, Maurice | 63.04 | 1 |
| 8 | Selwyn | ADAMS, Amy | 62.91 | 6 |
| 9 | Rodney | MITCHELL, Mark | 62.48 | 1 |
| 10 | North Shore | BARRY, Maggie | 62.40 | 2 |
The top ten electorates by party vote shows that National well and truly maintains its support through the affluent Auckland electorates. The only two electorates not in the Auckland region are deputy-leader Bill English's Clutha-Southland and Amy Adams' Selwyn electorates. Adams did well, helping to bring Selwyn up six rankings. More...