National reveals election line-up: Which MPs were thrown a list lifeline?

<p>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.</p> <p><b>By Craig McCulloch of </b><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/934651/watch-national-party-announces-list-for-2026-general-election" target="_blank"><b>RNZ</b></a><b></b></p> <p>The party released its full line-up of election candidates on Saturday afternoon, largely preserving the existing hierarchy.</p> <p><a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/04/02/analysis-chris-bishop-hit-hard-in-pms-reshuffle/" target="_blank">Chris Bishop</a> retained third place on National's list, a fairly safe spot, even if he lost his hold on the marginal Hutt South electorate.</p> <p>Similarly, Paul Goldsmith, who's unlikely to win Epsom from ACT leader David Seymour, retained his current sixth position in caucus.</p> <p>Speaker Gerry Brownlee, who's running as a list-only candidate, was boosted to the ninth spot, up from 14th in 2023.</p> <p><a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/player/newsclip/whos-up-and-whos-down-as-national-reveals-its-election-list" target="_blank"><b>Who's up and who's down as National reveals its election list - Watch on TVNZ+</b></a></p> <p>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.</p> <p>Recent polls put National on about 31%, 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.</p> <p>But for Bishop, Goldsmith and Brownlee, the election rankings should provide a degree of protection and comfort.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>The party highlighted all four candidates in its promotional material, noting Milne's history as a former Federated Farmers president and Stephens' executive experience.</p> <h2>Luxon: 'It's a week in politics for me'</h2> <p>Addressing reporters at Wellington Airport, Luxon said National was "ruthlessly focused" on maximising its party vote.</p> <p>He said Brownlee's ranking reflected that he was considered a great "kaumātua" or elder in the party.</p> <p>"He's been in Parliament now for 30 years. We really value Gerry. We think very highly of him."</p> <p>National's list announcement comes at a difficult point for the governing party, with its support having fallen significantly from the 2023 election.</p> <p>It also follows a difficult period for Luxon who began the week <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/03/i-got-that-wrong-luxon-apologises-for-remarks-about-small-businesses/" target="_blank">apologising to small businesses</a> in Rotorua.</p> <p>He's also <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/06/absolute-surprise-peters-on-luxons-call-for-mmp-referendum/" target="_blank">been criticised</a> for his inability to <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/30/call-for-winston-peters-to-be-sacked-over-go-back-to-your-country-remark/" target="_blank">discipline his foreign minister</a> Winston Peters, his impromptu call for a <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/07/luxon-holds-firm-on-mmp-referendum-call-despite-cross-party-criticism/" target="_blank">referendum on MMP, </a>and his use of Defence Force planes.</p> <p>Luxon did win some reprieve, with the <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/07/labour-slides-as-coalition-clings-to-power-opportunity-breaks-5-poll/" target="_blank">latest Taxpayers' Union Curia poll</a> predicting the coalition's return to power - and showing a significant drop in support for the current opposition parties. </p> <p>He batted away questions from reporters about his performance over the past week, saying he was "moving forward" and focused on the campaign ahead.</p> <p>"It's a week in politics for me," he said.</p> <p>"I have some good weeks and some challenging weeks."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"I'm asked to form a judgement on things. I want to be as definitive and clear as I possibly can."</p> <p>National president Sylvia Wood also defended Luxon's decision to make a policy decision on the fly: "I'm 100% fine with that."</p> <p>Asked whether the board retained confidence in Luxon, Wood replied: "Absolutely."</p> <h2>The full list</h2> <p>1. Christopher Luxon - Botany</p> <p>2. Nicola Willis - List</p> <p>3. Chris Bishop - Hutt South</p> <p>4. Simeon Brown - Pakuranga</p> <p>5. Erica Stanford - East Coast Bays</p> <p>6. Paul Goldsmith - Epsom</p> <p>7. Louise Upston - Taupō</p> <p>8. Mark Mitchell - Whangaparāoa</p> <p>9. Gerry Brownlee - List</p> <p>10. Todd McClay - Rotorua</p> <p>11. Tama Potaka - Hamilton West</p> <p>12. Matt Doocey - Waimakariri</p> <p>13. Simon Watts - North Shore</p> <p>14. Chris Penk - Kaipara-ki-Mahurangi</p> <p>15. Penny Simmonds - Invercargill</p> <p>16. Nancy Lu - List</p> <p>17. Nicola Grigg - Selwyn</p> <p>18. James Meager - Rangitata</p> <p>19. Scott Simpson - Coromandel</p> <p>20. Cameron Brewer - Upper Harbour</p> <p>21. Mike Butterick - Wairarapa</p> <p>22. Stuart Smith - Kaikōura</p> <p>23. Dale Stephens - Christchurch Central</p> <p>24. Mahesh Muralidhar - Tāmaki</p> <p>25. Katie Milne - West Coast-Tasman</p> <p>26. Angee Nicholas - Henderson</p> <p>27. Katie Nimon - Napier</p> <p>28. Tom Rutherford - Bay of Plenty</p> <p>29. Carl Bates - Whanganui</p> <p>30. Melissa Lee - Mt Albert</p> <p>31. Dan Bidois - Northcote</p> <p>32. Suze Redmayne - Rangitīkei</p> <p>33. Dana Kirkpatrick - East Cape</p> <p>34. Carlos Cheung - Mt Roskill</p> <p>35. Grant McCallum - Northland</p> <p>36. Ryan Hamilton - Hamilton East</p> <p>37. Catherine Wedd - Tukituki</p> <p>38. Tim Costley - Kāpiti</p> <p>39. Vanessa Weenink - Banks Peninsula</p> <p>40. Rosemary Bourke - Māngere</p> <p>41. Blair Cameron - Nelson</p> <p>42. Kristine Asuncion - Dunedin</p> <p>43. Barbara Kuriger - Taranaki-King Country</p> <p>44. Greg Fleming - Maungakiekie</p> <p>45. Rima Nakhle - Takanini</p> <p>46. David MacLeod - New Plymouth</p> <p>47. Miles Anderson - Waitaki</p> <p>48. Hamish Campbell - Ilam</p> <p>49. Tim van de Molen - Waikato</p> <p>50. Joseph Mooney - Southland</p> <p>51. Sam Uffindell - Tauranga</p> <p>52. Emma Chatterton - Papakura</p> <p>53. Ankit Bansal - Palmerston North</p> <p>54. Matthew French - Taieri</p> <p>55. Candace Kinser - Auckland Central</p> <p>56. Coral Raukawa - Te Tai Hauāuru</p> <p>57. Tracy Summerfield - Wigram</p> <p>58. Agnes Loheni - Waitakere</p> <p>59. Lalit Arya - Ōtāhuhu</p> <p>60. Matthew Evetts - Kenepuru</p> <p>61. Lloyd Budd - Whangārei</p> <p>62. Matthew Paul - Port Waikato</p> <p>63. Sunil Kumar - Glendene</p> <p>64. Karuna Muthu - Wellington Bays</p> <p>65. Alexandra Davids - Christchurch East</p> <p>66. Ghouse Majeed - Manurewa</p> <p>67. Jonathan Pitts - Wellington North</p> <p>68. Zabeen Lateef - Remutaka</p> <p>69. Troy Elliott - List</p> <p>70. Robin Atwall - List</p> <p>71. Ash Nayyar - List</p> <p>72. Maria Sanson - List</p>