He arrived at his event at O’Malleys, an Irish bar and restaurant in the wealthy Lower Hutt suburb of Eastbourne where he lives, about 9.30pm, and did not take questions from media.
Bishop was behind Andersen for most of the night as the numbers rolled in, but by differing margins.
He sat with his campaign team refreshing the results on a laptop, and at one point was heard saying “f***ing hell it’s tight”.
“I’ve devoted 12 years of my life to representing Hutt South as both a list MP and as an electorate MP … so it’s devastating that I won’t be in the next Parliament to stand up for the Hutt but I’m sure that Ginny will continue to do that as the elected MP for Hutt South.”
National’s Chris Bishop has lost to Labour’s Ginny Andersen 17,957 votes to 17,068 on preliminary numbers.
Bishop, number three on National’s list and one of the most senior ministers in the coalition Government, thanked his wife, Jenna Raeburn, and said he was looking forward to spending more time with his young family.
“Thank you very much to everyone for being here to support and once all the final results are through, we’re going to have a big party, drink a lot of beer, and eat a lot of food, it’s going to be great.”
Bishop first won Hutt South, which is considered to traditionally be a Labour seat, in the 2017 election, before losing it to Andersen in 2020, then reclaiming it in 2023.
The final election results are expected to be confirmed on Friday, November 27.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.