THE Coalition threw everything it had at Ballarat but in the end it wasn't enough.

There wasn't a week go by during the campaign without both sides of politics making serious infrastructure commitments to the city, making the region the envy of non marginal seats across the state.

Major hospital redevelopments, the relocation of a government department, the Eureka Stadium overhaul and a revamp of the Ballarat Railway Station Precinct led a list of election promises that included something for everyone.

In the end Ballarat has been the better for it, with strong candidates across the board meaning Ballarat was streets ahead of other regional hubs.

The battle for Wendouree was expected to be far closer than it ended up and suffered from a big state-wide swing against the now ex-premier Denis Napthine.

While in Buninyong Labor MP Geoff Howard will return to parliament for another four years, leaving the Liberal Party wondering if it can ever win the seat back.

With so much funding thrown at both seats and a redrawing of the boundaries playing into the Liberal favour, the area appears to be a lock as a Labor stronghold for now.

Over coming days, the question will be asked what went wrong for the Liberals in Ballarat and the answer probably isn't that difficult to understand.

A state-wide swing resulting from a strong Labor campaign and constant anger from emergency services directed towards the Napthine government no doubt had a major impact locally.

Little more could be done by local Liberal candidates to win Wendouree and Buninyong, but in the end they suffered from four years of disunity and poor management from the party which ultimately meant they couldn't cause an upset.