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The 1946 Raglan by-election was a by-election held in the Raglan electorate on 5 March 1946 during the term of the 27th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election was caused by the death of Labour Party representative Robert Coulter, and was won by Hallyburton Johnstone of the National Party in a close result.

Background

The electorate Raglan was a mixture of rural and urban areas, and known as quite marginal. Rural households in the electorate were often quite remote, and this remoteness could swing the results of the election to the party with better campaigners.

The by-election was caused by the death of Labour MP Robert Coulter on 31 December 1945. Coulter had been elected twice in rural electorates that usually returned United or National MPs, having previously been MP for Waikato.

Campaign

The campaign for Raglan was tightly fought, and it was believed that the result of the by-election could be a pointer to the results of the general election later that year. In addition to the candidates, politicians of high authority on both sides campaigned throughout the electorate in the interest of canvassing more voters. One of those figures was prime minister Peter Fraser.

Results

The provisional results were compiled on the day of the election and had Johnstone leading Baxter by 194 votes. 378 absentee ballots and 152 postal votes were missing from this provisional count.

The full results of the election had come in by 13 March and suggested a win by Johnstone with a majority of 308 votes. The final outcome was decided by the electoral court.

Aftermath

Labour stayed in office in the general election later that year, albeit by a decreased margin. The same two candidates Johnstone and Baxter competed at Raglan, Baxter commanding a lead of just 39 votes at the final count, a loss of 6 votes from the preliminary count. Two further rulings going well into 1947 culminated in Baxter's majority been reduced to a mere 13 votes.

References

1. ^ "Raglan By-Election Tomorrow Stirs Wide Interest". The Northern Advocate. 4 March 1946. Retrieved 20 May 2020 – via Papers Past.
2. "News of the Week". Lake Wakatip Mail. No. 4732. 7 March 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 25 December 2015 – via Papers Past.
3. "The Herald". Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette. 13 March 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 14 June 2015 – via Papers Past.
4. "Election Comparison". The New Zealand Herald. 27 November 1946. p. 11.
5. Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. p. ?. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
6. "Labour Majority of Four Seats". Waikato Independent. Vol. XLIII, no. 6025. 9 December 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Papers Past.
7. "Petition fails". Otago Daily Times. No. 26461. 15 May 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Papers Past.
8. "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

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26th Parliament	Christchurch South, 1939 Auckland West, 1940 Waipawa, 1940 Waitemata, 1941 Bay of Plenty, 1941 Mid-Canterbury, 1942 Temuka, 1942 Hauraki, 1942 Christchurch East, 1943 Northern Maori, 1943
27th Parliament	Awarua, 1944 Western Maori, 1945 Hamilton, 1945 Dunedin North, 1945 Raglan, 1946
28th Parliament	Avon, 1947 Mount Albert, 1947 Westland, 1947
29th Parliament	Brooklyn, 1951
30th Parliament	Dunedin North, 1953 Onehunga, 1953 Onslow, 1954 Patea, 1954
31st Parliament	Riccarton, 1956 Bay of Plenty, 1957
32nd Parliament	Hamilton, 1959
33rd Parliament	Hurunui, 1961 Waitaki, 1962 Buller, 1962 Timaru, 1962 Otahuhu, 1963 Northern Maori, 1963 Grey Lynn, 1963
34th Parliament	There were no by-elections during the term of the 34th Parliament.
35th Parliament	Southern Maori, 1967 Fendalton, 1967 Petone, 1967 Palmerston North, 1967 Eastern Maori, 1967 Hutt, 1968
36th Parliament	Marlborough, 1970
37th Parliament	Sydenham, 1974
38th Parliament	Nelson, 1976 Mangere, 1977 Pahiatua, 1977 Rangitikei, 1978
39th Parliament	Christchurch Central, 1979 Northern Maori, 1980 Onehunga, 1980 East Coast Bays, 1980
40th Parliament	There were no by-elections during the term of the 40th Parliament.
41st Parliament	Timaru, 1985
42nd Parliament	There were no by-elections during the term of the 42nd Parliament.
43rd Parliament	Tamaki, 1992 Wellington Central, 1992 Tauranga, 1993
44th Parliament	Selwyn, 1994

• By-elections in New Zealand
• 1946 elections in New Zealand
• Politics of Waikato
• March 1946 events in New Zealand