National's Grant McCallum leads in Northland as 2026 election counting begins

Counting has started for the 2026 general election in Northland, where months of campaigning across three electorates have culminated in preliminary results, nzherald.co.nz reported.

National's incumbent MP Grant McCallum is currently leading with 14,345 votes, ahead of Labour's Ashleigh Latimer who has 7,066 votes, with 80.3% of votes counted as of 11 p.m.

In the party vote, National is also leading with 30.13%, followed by Labour at 19.08%, according to nzherald.co.nz.

McCallum expressed encouragement at the results and outlined his plans if re-elected, including contacting his opponent and colleagues and focusing on boosting tourism in Northland, which he said is underperforming compared to the rest of the country.

He plans to collaborate with leading tourism operators to improve outcomes and increase visitor numbers in the region.

The official election results are scheduled to be announced on November 27, according to nzherald.co.nz.