Rangitata election campaign is underway

The race, as they say, is on. At least, it has been for a while. Labour kick-started what will be a drawn-out campaign for the Rangitata seat when it announced Jo Luxton’s candidacy in July and last week, the least secret of local political secrets was dispelled when Jo Goodhew MP confirmed she still wanted the seat.

Or, perhaps it ought to be called ‘‘her’’ seat: Rangitata has been Goodhew’s since 2005, secured each election with some of the widest majorities in Parliament.

But if Goodhew is a known quantity, Labour is looking to rebuild its image in Rangitata after a disastrous 2014 campaign.

Then, Labour candidate Steve Gibson was accused of anti-semitism after referring to Prime Minister John Key as ‘Shylock’. He subsequently lost the support of then-leader David Cunliffe and later cut ties with the party altogether.

Gibson followed Julian Blanchard, who lost by 8112 votes in 2008 and 6537 votes in 2011. He reduced Goodhew’s majority — but reducing a majority does not get one into the House of Representatives.

And so the scene is set for Luxton, an early childhood centre owner from Hinds, to face a Herculean task that has, so far, proven too difficult for her party to best.

The enthusiastic Luxton is an increasingly familiar sight at events around the region and has the firm - and very visible - support of Labour MPs from around the country.

Leader Andrew Little was full of praise for her well before she was officially selected as the party’s candidate. But her lack of political experience and the ghosts of candidates past present ever-present hurdles.

Notwithstanding Luxton’s campaign, Goodhew has her own challenges. As long-term MPs often do, she must convince voters she can still bring something new to the table.

Goodhew is a busy and visible MP. She performs her role with enthusiasm and poise and, relative to her colleagues, she has managed to avoid major controversies, scandals, and feather-ruffling of any kind.

However, she has not had much of an opportunity to shine as a minister, being tasked with dull-but-worthy portfolios such as Food Safety. She received a harsh review from political newsletter Trans Tasman last year. Her 3/10 performance rating was among the lowest in her caucus. The newsletter’s authors said the former associate health minister had been given ‘‘a hopeless bunch of portfolios’’ and that she had ‘‘pretty much sunk without a trace’’.

But now is the time for a candidate to swim. The only ratings that matter will come on election day.