<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tens of thousands of voters in south-western </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales" rel="" target="" title="NSW"><span>NSW</span></a><span> have cast their ballots in the eagerly-anticipated Farrer </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/by-election" rel="" target="" title="byelection"><span>byelection</span></a><span>, where One Nation is vying to continue its conservative crusade and upend a historic </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/liberal-party" rel="" target="" title="Liberal"><span>Liberal</span></a><span> heartland.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The final votes have been cast in the contest for former opposition leader Sussan Ley's seat, which is being widely watched as a temperature check of voter dissatisfaction with the major parties.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If successful, it would be the first time a One Nation candidate has been directly elected to the House of Representatives.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-close-is-australia-to-recession-warning-signs-explained/f6c2e2a9-dc84-4f1c-8de3-d01c8e782eaa" target="_blank"><strong><span>Is Australia headed for a recession? The latest job data paints a grim picture</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Opposition Leader Angus Taylor exchanged casual smiles and cool handshakes with locals outside key voting booths this morning, despite pressures to retain his predecessor's seat, which Ley held for 25 years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"[It's an] important day for Farrer. We're humbly asking the people of Farrer to vote for Raissa," Taylor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Raissa Butkowski, the Liberal candidate, stifled suggestions the party's success in the region had fallen to voter dissatisfaction.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/farrer-byelection-2026-results-new-south-wales-federal-politics/b8d15012-231d-46f1-b7ba-30e5bdb8b5cc" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The Liberal Party is not only the hope of Farrer but for the rest of the country," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The seat has only ever been held by the Liberals or Nationals since its inception, and Labor is not running a candidate in the byelection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Butkowski faces an uphill battle, with One Nation vying to shake up the conservative status quo.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/spain-readies-for-evacuations-as-a-hantavirushit-cruise-ship-heads-for-the-canary-islands/627566b8-40f1-4c67-b568-4bbb9bdf66a2" rel="" target="" title="Australia prepares to repatriate citizens as hantavirus-hit cruise ship heads for the Canary Islands "><strong><span>Australia prepares to repatriate citizens as hantavirus-hit cruise ship heads for the Canary Islands</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You know the nation is looking for change and Farrer is screaming out for change," One Nation candidate David Farley said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has had the seat in her sights as the first pawn in a national takeover of major party politics, following a rise in support in recent months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"[I'm voting for] Farley for sure. Just sick of the garbage of the major parties," one votert said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I've voted mostly the Libs all my life, but, they are not connected at the moment," another voter told 9News.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But others felt the conservative party didn't represent the people of Farrer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-negative-gearing-changes-what-is-it-everything-you-need-to-know/c37e11e6-9cdb-4420-b3fc-fcf908df8d67" rel="" target="" title="Negative gearing set to undergo first change in nearly 40 years. Here's what you need to know"><strong><span>Negative gearing set to undergo first change in nearly 40 years. Here's what you need to know</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm really sad at the idea that a community that has such a strong sort of migrant, multicultural background could possibly vote in One Nation," one woman said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That makes me really sad."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe is shaping up as the closest contender for One Nation, having finished second to Ley at last year's federal election.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She too is pushing back against the major parties.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think they've lost that connection and the understanding of what it's like, you know, what a tank of fuel really costs," Milthorpe said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think the clear message is that the two major parties, it's not business as usual anymore," independent MP for Indi Helen Haines said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Farrer, which takes in the border town of Albury, has had just four representatives since its inception in 1944 - three Liberals and a National.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Today's byelection could spell disaster for Taylor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The Liberal Party made a decision on a new leader and that's had ramifications ... we just get on with the job," Nationals leader Matt Canavan said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're going to keep fighting for the things we believe in and that we know are the right things for this wonderful part of Australia," Taylor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Results from the vote count are expected to begin rolling in after 6pm, with candidates hoping to claim victory later tonight.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>