A national result will not be known on Saturday or maybe even Sunday but the results were clear in this electorate. 

Ms King received 43.19 per cent of the primary vote and 56.96 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote. 

She gained two per cent of the TPP vote, more than the statewide swing of just over one per cent. 

She told The Courier on Saturday people had voted with healthcare on their minds. 

“I think that there’s absolutely no doubt that the damage has been done over the course of the past two-and-a-half years nationally in health has been one of the biggest issues here in this district,” says Ms King.

“I think people have seen it first hand and they understand that. They’ve seen the difference of what’s happening.”

The Coalition’s jobs and growth message was muddied locally by the focus on the CFA crisis. 

Liberal candidate Sarah Wade was gracious in defeat, despite the loss the latest in an extraordinary run for the once-dominant party. 

She said it had been a hard-fought campaign but acknowledged the voters had made their decision. 

“The feedback I was getting from voters out there was that they liked what they were hearing, but it is what it is,” she said. 

Ms Wade said Ballarat still needed to think about increasing job availability and the CFA issue would still hurt locally. 

Greens candidate Alice Barnes received over 10 per cent of the primary vote, up from the 2013 result. 

It was a disappointing showing for last-minute National Party candidate Paul Tatchell. 

Aiming for six to eight per cent of the vote, Mr Tatchell was sitting under 3.8 per cent of the primary vote on Saturday night.