Ripon, taking in the west of Ballarat, Miners Rest, and Invermay, appears to have been claimed by Labor challenger Martha Haylett, defeating Liberal incumbent Louise Staley.
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With almost 40 per cent of the vote counted, Ms Haylett is up 53.8 per cent on two-party-preferred, compared to Ms Staley's 46.2.
The Ripon result is one of the most closely-watched in the state, with Ms Staley winning by just 15 votes in 2018.
Elsewhere in Ballarat, Labor will retain both Wendouree and the renamed seat of Eureka.
At time of writing, with 25.7 per cent of the vote counted, incumbent Juliana Addison is at 65.17 per cent, to Liberal challenger Samantha McIntosh at 34.83 per cent.
In Eureka, which lost Sebastopol but gained Bacchus Marsh, Liberal challenger Paul Tatchell is on 42.95 per cent, chasing incumbent Michaela Settle on 57.05 per cent with 32 per cent of the vote counted.
The strong showing by the Greens in innner Melbourne where they have won Northcote and Richmond to add to their pool of seats has been reflected to a degree in their boost in Ballarat.
While they cannot claim to be the challengers to the incumbents in regional Victoria, both Ellen Burns in Wendouree who polled 12.5 percent and Sam McColl who polled just less at 11.59 percent in Eureka shows they are a growing force.
These are some of the highest poll percentages for the Greens ever recorded in Ballarat in a state election.
MORE TO COME
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