Tim Wilson reclaims Goldstein electorate from Zoe Daniel, AEC confirms

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Liberal Tim Wilson has won a hard-fought election battle against teal independent Zoe Daniel, with the defeated MP hinting at a potential rematch.

The former member for Goldstein won back the seat in Melbourne’s bayside with a final margin of 175 votes following a partial recount of ballots, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) announced on Saturday.

Wilson thanked voters on social media, including those who made efforts to vote overseas.

“I’m pleased the AEC has confirmed the conclusion of the recount in Goldstein, the former member, Zoe Daniel, has conceded, and that our margin of 175 votes has been confirmed with our 50,288 primary votes, which is 14,695 more than our opponent,” Wilson said in a statement.

“Now the recount is finished, the result is clear, it is time to get on with the job and take the voice and values of Goldstein to shape the future of Australia: and that’s precisely what I will do every day in service,” he said on social media platform X.

‘See you in 2028?’

Daniel has called Wilson to congratulate him on his win and offered commiserations to her volunteers and supporters.

“Goldstein is now a vastly different seat to the one he once sat in — about as marginal as it gets — and with that comes embedded accountability,” she said.

“Changing systems of power is hard. Two steps forward is sometimes followed by one back.

“It’s a resilience test, and it’s a reason to get back up and keep fighting.”

A woman with short blond hair, wearing a red blazer and blue top.

Independent Zoe Daniel has hinted at a 2028 rematch between her and Liberal Tim Wilsom. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

The defeated first-term MP praised her team’s integrity and humanity, saying they did not seek to “divide” or resort to “attack advertising, misinformation, disinformation, dirty tricks or personal attacks”.

Daniel ended her post on X with: “See you in 2028? Maybe!”

The AEC conducted a partial recount at the request of Daniel after the final count had Wilson 260 votes ahead.

The change in margin was attributed to scrutineers challenging the formality of some ballots and a data entry error that was picked up in the recount.

“The partial recount has been a methodical and highly transparent process with all counting activities throughout the entire counting period occurring in front of candidate-appointed scrutineers,” the commission said.

Wilson, who lost to Daniel in the 2022 election, is the only Liberal candidate to gain a seat at the election, where the Coalition suffered its worst result in 80 years, securing about 43 seats in the House of Representatives.