Election 2020: Poll to reveal who is ahead in the fight for Auckland Central

A poll is set to reveal who is ahead in the disputed fight for Auckland Central’s electorate.

The seat is held by popular National Party incumbent Nikki Kaye, but she is retiring and Newshub’s The Nation has conducted its first Reid Research poll of the electorate to reveal who is ahead in the race to be her replacement.

National chose Emma Mellow, the bank’s relatively unknown public relations manager, after a late and messy selection process that gave National a rocky start in the contest.

But with the Labor Party at the top of the party vote, its candidate Helen White could be the frontrunner. She ran in 2017 when she won 40 percent of the candidates’ votes, more than the Labor vote of 38 percent.

however, as high-profile green MP Chloe Swarbrick is also making a play for the seat.

With the Greens hovering around the crucial 5 percent threshold in public polls, an electorate victory would be a lifeline for the Greens to remain in Parliament.