2020 election: Auckland Central poll – close race between Labor’s Helen White and National’s Emma Mellow

The Auckland Central competition appears to be getting tighter with Labor’s Helen White leading 35 percent, followed by National’s Emma Mellow at 30 percent and the Greens’ Chloe Swarbrick at 26 percent.

When it comes to party vote support, Labor is far ahead with 47 percent, National with 28 percent and Greens with 13 percent.

Mellow has closed the gap with White after a previous poll left her nearly 16 percentage points behind.

Colmar Brunton’s latest question-and-answer poll, released Sunday morning, shows a narrow gap between the candidates.

Results of the candidate survey:
Labor – Helen White 35%
National – Emma Mellow 30%
Green Party – Chlöe Swarbrick 26%
ACT – Felix Poole 4%
New Zealand Sustainable Party – Vernon Tava 2%
Tea Party – Dominic Hoffman Dervan 1%
NZ First – Jenny Marcroft 1%
Don’t know / Refused 9%

Labor has always been concerned that Swarbrick could split the vote on the left and let National and Helen White reiterate that concern in Q + A.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has actively campaigned with White and has dismissed any kind of assent to help the Greens win it.

White said he’d love for Swarbrick to back down “but I doubt he will.”

“I’ve always said it was important that we not split the vote on the left. I don’t want to be complacent about this and I don’t want people to get confused.”

Swarbrick responded by saying that there was an underestimation of independent thinking in Auckland Central. They valued hard work, independent thinking and “boots on the ground” and she had worked hard in the electorate as a list MP for the past three years.

Mellow, who works in banking communications, said she was connected to business and her support was increasing every day. White said her 27 years as a labor attorney also clearly meant she was involved with small businesses.

In a previous poll, White had 42.3% support, Mellow 26.6% and Swarbrick 24.2%.

That poll, a take from The Nation by Reid Research poll, was taken in the first half of September.

The seat has been held by national MP Nikki Kaye since 2008, but announced her retirement from politics shortly after tumultuous events in the National Party, including the resignation of leader Todd Muller in July.

She had actively promoted the coup against former leader Simon Bridges in May and became a deputy for Muller.

But she had a high national profile as a young minister in the key government and was prominent on socially liberal issues.

The Greens generally campaign for the party vote only, but have targeted Auckland Central as a win-win seat as insurance against dropping their party’s vote below 5 percent.

This is Swarbrick’s first term in Parliament. She has been the main activist for the Greens in the referendum to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.

It was a bad third last pick when Green List MP Denise Roche was the candidate.

White was second and was 1,581 votes away from regaining the traditional Labor seat, although Sandra Lee held it for the Alliance for a term in 1993.