National Party announces list for 2026 General Election

Senior National MPs who might have been nervous about the party's polling have been ranked highly to give them the best shot of returning to Parliament next term. The party released its full line-up of election candidates on Saturday afternoon, largely preserving the existing hierarchy. Chris Bishop retained third place on National's list, a fairly safe spot, even if he lost his hold on the marginal Hutt South electorate. Similarly, Paul Goldsmith, who's unlikely to win Epsom from ACT leader David Seymour, retained his current sixth position in caucus. Speaker Gerry Brownlee, who's running as a list-only candidate, was boosted to the ninth spot, up from 14th in 2023. The move stops short of the traditional third ranking sometimes given to Speakers, but makes Brownlee's return likely if National performs near its current polling. Recent polls put National on about 31 percent, which would secure them about 39 or 40 seats. Political analysts have noted that a strong performance across electorates, however, could leave the party with very few list MPs. But for Bishop, Goldsmith and Brownlee, the election rankings should provide a degree of protection and comfort. In line with the party's constitution, leader Christopher Luxon and deputy Nicola Willis took the top two positions. Willis is also reliant on her list spot to return. The list ranked Simeon Brown fourth, Erica Stanford fifth, Louise Upston seventh and Mark Mitchell eighth. All four of them are expected to win their electorates. Tama Potaka shot to 11th on the list, up from from 24th in 2023. In contrast, former broadcasting minister Melissa Lee dropped from 13th to 30th. New faces who have been awarded high rankings include Dale Stephens in Christchurch Central (23), Mahesh Muralidhar in Tamaki (24), Katie Milne in West Coast-Tasman (25) and Angee Nicholas in Henderson (26). The party highlighted all four candidates in its promotional material, noting Milne's history as a former Federated Farmers president and Stephens' executive experience. Luxon: 'It's a week in politics for me' Addressing reporters at Wellington Airport, Luxon said National was "ruthlessly focused" on maximising its party vote. He said Brownlee's ranking reflected that he was considered a great "kaumātua" or elder in the party. "He's been in Parliament now for 30 years. We really value Gerry. We think very highly of him." National's list announcement comes at a difficult point for the governing party, with its support having fallen significantly from the 2023 election. It also follows a difficult period for Luxon who began the week apologising to small businesses in Rotorua. He's also been criticised for his inability to discipline his foreign minister Winston Peters, his impromptu call for a referendum on MMP, and his use of Defence Force planes. Luxon did win some reprieve, with the latest Taxpayers' Union Curia poll predicting the coalition's return to power - and showing a significant drop in support for the current opposition parties. He batted away questions from reporters about his performance over the past week, saying he was "moving forward" and focused on the campaign ahead. "It's a week in politics for me," he said. "I have some good weeks and some challenging weeks." Luxon played down his impromptu campaign promise for an MMP referendum, saying it was his job as party leader to make decisions in the moment. "I'm asked to form a judgement on things. I want to be as definitive and clear as I possibly can." National president Sylvia Wood also defended Luxon's decision to make a policy decision on the fly: "I'm 100 percent fine with that." Asked whether the board retained confidence in Luxon, Wood replied: "Absolutely." The full list 1. Christopher Luxon - Botany 2. Nicola Willis - List 3. Chris Bishop - Hutt South 4. Simeon Brown - Pakuranga 5. Erica Stanford - East Coast Bays 6. Paul Goldsmith - Epsom 7. Louise Upston - Taupō 8. Mark Mitchell - Whangaparāoa 9. Gerry Brownlee - List 10. Todd McClay - Rotorua 11. Tama Potaka - Hamilton West 12. Matt Doocey - Waimakariri 13. Simon Watts - North Shore 14. Chris Penk - Kaipara-ki-Mahurangi 15. Penny Simmonds - Invercargill 16. Nancy Lu - List 17. Nicola Grigg - Selwyn 18. James Meager - Rangitata 19. Scott Simpson - Coromandel 20. Cameron Brewer - Upper Harbour 21. Mike Butterick - Wairarapa 22. Stuart Smith - Kaikōura 23. Dale Stephens - Christchurch Central 24. Mahesh Muralidhar - Tāmaki 25. Katie Milne - West Coast-Tasman 26. Angee Nicholas - Henderson 27. Katie Nimon - Napier 28. Tom Rutherford - Bay of Plenty 29. Carl Bates - Whanganui 30. Melissa Lee - Mt Albert 31. Dan Bidois - Northcote 32. Suze Redmayne - Rangitīkei 33. Dana Kirkpatrick - East Cape 34. Carlos Cheung - Mt Roskill 35. Grant McCallum - Northland 36. Ryan Hamilton - Hamilton East 37. Catherine Wedd - Tukituki 38. Tim Costley - Kāpiti 39. Vanessa Weenink - Banks Peninsula 40. Rosemary Bourke - Māngere 41. Blair Cameron - Nelson 42. Kristine Asuncion - Dunedin 43. Barbara Kuriger - Taranaki-King Country 44. Greg Fleming - Maungakiekie 45. Rima Nakhle - Takanini 46. David MacLeod - New Plymouth 47. Miles Anderson - Waitaki 48. Hamish Campbell - Ilam 49. Tim van de Molen - Waikato 50. Joseph Mooney - Southland 51. Sam Uffindell - Tauranga 52. Emma Chatterton - Papakura 53. Ankit Bansal - Palmerston North 54. Matthew French - Taieri 55. Candace Kinser - Auckland Central 56. Coral Raukawa - Te Tai Hauāuru 57. Tracy Summerfield - Wigram 58. Agnes Loheni - Waitakere 59. Lalit Arya - Ōtāhuhu 60. Matthew Evetts - Kenepuru 61. Lloyd Budd - Whangārei 62. Matthew Paul - Port Waikato 63. Sunil Kumar - Glendene 64. Karuna Muthu - Wellington Bays 65. Alexandra Davids - Christchurch East 66. Ghouse Majeed - Manurewa 67. Jonathan Pitts - Wellington North 68. Zabeen Lateef - Remutaka 69. Troy Elliott - List 70. Robin Atwall - List 71. Ash Nayyar - List 72. Maria Sanson - List [Missing Credit]