Hi all, this post contains my official predictions for the 2026 South Australian State Election. I'll start with my broad predictions and then move into seat by seat and minor party predictions.
General Predictions
Lets get the big one out of the way. Labor is going to win the election. I don't think there is a single person (besides some One Nation cookers already claiming the election was rigged) in the country who thinks that result is in doubt.
The real question of course is, by how much are Labor going to win by? The current range of polls since Ashton Hurn became leader of the Liberal party has Labor on a 35% to 44% primary vote and with a much smaller 59%-61% two party preferred vote. The variance between their primary vote and two party preferred is telling of a party who is not loved by all but tolerated by most, considering the lack of any viable alternative. If we take a result of 60% 2PP as the likely outcome for Labor on election night, that would mean a 2PP swing of 5.4% from the results of 2022.
If we take that swing and apply it to the current margins of seats, we get an absolute horror story for the Liberal Party. They would lose Morialta, Heysen, Unley, Ngadjuri, Hartley, Morphett, Colton, and even Hammond. Only Finniss, Bragg, Schubert, Chaffey, and Flinders would be safe. Of course, a completely uniform swing is unlikely, and this ignores the fact that Finniss and potentially Flinders will be battlegrounds where Independent candidates will play an important role.
Taking a more narrow view, I think its safe to say that Labor will not lose a seat. At the same time, I think Morialta, Heysen, Unley, Ngadjuri, Morphett, and Colton are firmly within Labor's sights. Hartley should be there, but Vincent Tarzia survived Nick Xenophon, so anything is possible. Adrian Pederick in Hammond may well survive by the skin of his teeth. Further up field, I think Finniss will likely go to Lou Nicholson (Independent) while Bragg and Schubert will be far closer than they seem to be now.
Before we get into numbers, I did want to officially predict that neither One Nation nor the Greens will get a lower house seat. I've heard and seen people predicting these things, it just won't happen. If we were facing a less well-tolerated Labor, maybe things would be different, but we aren't.
In terms of the number's, I am going to do two predictions. Firstly, a range that I think is most likely. And than, because I'm not a coward, I'll give exact numbers.
Prediction 1 (Range):
Labor 37-40 | Liberal 4-8 | Greens 0 | One Nation 0 | Independent 2-6
Prediction 2 (Exact):
Labor 38 | Liberal 4 | Greens 0 | One Nation 0 | Independent 5
In terms of what I'm predicting, I think Labor will take Morialta, Heysen, Unley, Ngadjuri, Morphett, Colton, Hammond, and one of either Bragg or Schubert from the Liberals. I also think they'll take Stuart off Geoff Brock. In terms of Independents, I think Fraser Ellis and Nick McBride, Narungga and MacKillop respectively, will survive, while Lou Nicholson (Finniss), Matt Schultz (Kavel), and Travis Fatchen (Mount Gambier) will win the seats they are contesting. The Liberals will only hold 4 seats, Flinders and Chaffey obviously, one of Bragg or Schubert, and Hartley. I don't know, for some reason I have a gut feeling about Tarzia.
Looking at the Legislative Council, that one's far easier to predict.
Labor 5 | Liberal 2 | Greens 1 | One Nation 2 | Other 1 (SA Best)
Labor will take 5 seats, the Liberals and One Nation 2 (One Nation's swing here will mean far more), and the Greens 1. The last seat is going to be the doozy. It'll entirely be based on preference flows, surplus, and exclusions. This means that, in my opinion, Labor, the Liberals, Greens, and One Nation could all be in play. However, I think there are a couple minor parties, namely Legalise Cannabis, SA Best, and Family First who could hit the 4%/5% needed to get a seat off preference flows. If you had to put a gun to my head, I'd say SA Best is going to win the seat, but Legalise Cannabis could very well be a dark horse (as could Chris McDermott, Fair Go is very high on so many HTV cards and as much as him and Game whine, he is still on their ballot).
From this point, I'm going to discuss my predictions for every seat. Some of these will be single lines, others will be far longer.
Seat Predictions
Adelaide
This is an interesting seat for the sole reason that Keiran Snape is running in it. If he was not, I would say that Lucy Hood (ALP) would retain with a landslide and that the story would really be if the Greens managed to eclipse the Liberals. As it stands, I can't see Snape getting below 10%, hes a very active figure within the district and has latched onto key issues such as the Parklands and racing events which have a sustained (though not large) group of supporters. His candidacy means that Hood's and the Green's potential growth in voters will be stymied, though I don't think but massive amounts as he's also likely taking from the Liberals. I do also want to see how many people vote for wanted man Aoi Baxter (ON) now that he's been disendorsed by the party. If he gets double digits still, that will be hilarious.
Lucy Hood (ALP) Retains
Badcoe
Very bluntly, Stinson wins. Not much to see here.
Jayne Stinson (ALP) Retains
Black
This seemed like a very straightforward race until David Speirs decided to return from political exile. Fundamentally, his existence in this seat only really makes sense if a pocket dimension filled with extra votes is funnelled to him, otherwise its just going to lead to the One Nation/Liberal/Speirs vote cannabilising itself. If I assume that the majority of Speirs' vote is going to come from Liberal voters, than the question becomes, what happens when you add One Nation to that mix? In any case, I don't see Speirs winning this seat, he's too toxic after what happened and not enough Labor voters will be enticed by him. The 2PP will be mightly interesting, but I think, considering that Speirs is positioning himself as a sensible 'independent', the majority of One Nation votes will flow to the Liberals, giving them enough to beat Speirs.
Alex Dighton (ALP) Retains
Bragg
Perhaps its just my inherent disbelief that someone who has lost 4 elections could win one, but I do not see Rick Sarre (ALP) taking this seat from Jack Batty. Batty is perhaps one of the better operators in the Liberal Party, and Sarre is, well, not that as a candidate. Batty will hold, but it's going to be close.
Jack Batty (LIB) Retains
Chaffey
The sovereign republic of Chaffey under supreme leader Tim Whetstone is not falling at this election. It would take a monumental swing to completely kneecap Whetstone, and I fundamentally can't see that happening, despite polls suggesting One Nation is hitting 40% in regional districts.
Tim Whetstone (LIB) Retains
Cheltenham
Another straightforward seat, Joe Szackas of Labor is not facing any significant threat.
Joe Szackas (ALP) Retains
Colton
Shockingly, I don't think Aria Bolkus (ALP) is going to lose here (sarcasm on the shockingly). Bec Sutton (LIB) isn't a bad opponent, but this isn't an election where even good Liberal candidates can beat Labor.
Aria Bolkus (ALP) Wins
Croydon
Its the premier's seat. He isn't losing. The thing of interest here is to see if Malinauskas, whose been relatively hands off with Croydon for the last 4 years, will lose votes to the Greens and SA Socialists. I've heard Socialists predicting everything from a handful of votes to 15%, but I think anything over 4% would be a respectable showing for them. Do I think Malinauskas is going to go backwards on primary vote share? Yes, but not by much.
Peter Malinauskas (ALP) Retains
Davenport
I'm going to feel like a broken record soon, but I think this another clear case of Labor wins lol. Maybe Photakis, whose a perennial candidate, can pull a higher vote than expected, but I am not certain of it.
Erin Thomson (ALP) Retains
Dunstan
If this were a normal election, I'd be interested to see how Anna Finizio (LIB) and Ian McBryde (IND) do, both seem relatively competent in an area that could see a swing. However, it's not a normal election, its a Labor landslide with a Liberal kneecapping, so the results probably won't appear for those two. Interested to see how Ricci Stanley (FG) does, considering she is now Fair Go's 'longest'-running candidate (she's been around for 2-3 months).
Cressida O'Hanlon (ALP) Retains
Elder
Shawn van Groesen isn't a terrible candidate, but Nadia Clancy just isn't losing this one.
Nadia Clancy (ALP) Retains
Elizabeth
This is an interesting seat because plenty of people are predicting that Kym Hanton (ON) is likely to make it into the 2pp. I fundamentally do not believe he will. His campaign has been poorly managed, and while he may certainly do slightly better than the Liberals on primary votes, the vast majority of preferences will flow to them over One Nation in my opinion. It'll be close, but he won't be number 2. At the same time, there's alot of discussion around Ella Shaw and her ability to replace Odenwalder. I think she's at a disadvantage, considering Odenwalder was very well-liked and he hasn't done much campaigning with her, but I still think she'll gain alot from that overall.
Ella Shaw (ALP) Wins
Enfield
Everything I've heard about Lawrence Ben (ALP) tells me that he is not a good candidate. His campaign is seemingly disorganised, he himself isn't the best with strategic direction, and his background reeks of favouritism in why he got selected. None of this will be enough to stop him, and quite frankly, he is still far better than the 'destroyer of stupol' Oscar Ong (LIB). Most interesting part of this seat will be seeing whether Leila Clendon (SA Socialists) will get an amount above 2%.
Lawrence Ben (ALP) Wins
Finniss
Last election, Lou Nicholson (IND) came within 350 votes of beating David Basham for the seat in the 2 candidate preferred race. This election, she will beat him. The Liberal's downfall alongside Labor's declining primary vote are both massive gains for Nicholson, especially considering that last election, when Labor had a 40% primary vote, their candidate for this seat only hit 23%. As long as Nicholson stays around the 20% mark, she'll win, and I think a significant amount of Liberal voters will flow to her. I'll also note that Labor's candidate, Phoebe Reddington, is barely a candidate at all (she's incredibly new to electoral politics, was announced quite late, and as far as I know is running a relatively quiet campaign), so I doubt she'll be getting too much of a swing.
Lou Nicholson (IND) Wins
Flinders
I've seen people predicting that Flinders will go the way of an Independent. While I am big on a few independents at this election, nothing I've seen suggests that Meghan Petherick, Rod Keogh, and Craig Haslam will win. The last two are essentially non-starters, while Petherick will probably end up like Snape in Adelaide, with a good showing but not enough. Same Telfer (LIB) is not losing this seat, it would take a swing of absurd proportions for him to lose it and I just don't see it happening. If he loses, the One Nation swing must've have been historical.
Sam Telfer (LIB) Retains
Florey
This initially looked like quite a boring seat, however, the return of its previous MP, Frances Bedford, has made it somewhat interesting. She's not going to win, her campaign hasn't been high profile enough and she appeared quite late in the game, but she could certainly take primary votes away from both major parties. Look to her to finish third, if not second.
Michael Brown (ALP) Retains
Gibson
Here's another case of decent contender, wrong election. Jane Fleming (LIB) has been quite the active candidate and in other elections would likely give Sarah Andrews (ALP) a run for her money. Not this election though.
Sarah Andrews (ALP) Retains
Giles
This very well could be the first seat called on the night.
Eddie Hughes (ALP) Retains
Hammond
In some ways I feel bad for Adrian Pederick (LIB). He's been the member for the seat for the last 20 years, and yet, if you told 99% of people he was an MP, they'd tell you you're lying. I also feel bad for him because he's losing his seat. The rise of One Nation, the absurd amount of candidates, and two notable candidates in Simone Bailey (ALP) and Airlie Keen (IND) give him no chance of retaining. II actually suspect Keen and Bailey will be the 2cp, however, I think Bailey edges Keen out in the end.
Simone Bailey (ALP) Wins
Hartley
As Antony Green said to me last night, "I was once told you need an Italian last name to win Hartley". And while many seem to think this isn't true anymore, I still think it holds water. Vincent Tarzia (LIB) is a known survivor, having beaten Nick Xenophon at his peak (in a three race race that Tarzia was meant to be a distant third in). Furthermore, Jenn Roberts is decidedly not Italian, and her campaign, while active, has not been the best organised from what I've heard. The day may come where Hartley does not elect an Italian, but Saturday won't be that day.
Vincent Tarzia (LIB) Retains
Heysen
This is the seat that the Greens have put all of their eggs into. There is a genuine belief by some that the Greens will, if not win Heysen, at the very least do quite well. I do not hold that belief. I am of the opinion that they won't even come 2nd (and if Andrew Granger was running a more notable campaign, I could see them coming 4th). They might do quite well in primary vote share, but unless Josh Teague has a catastrophic collapse in his primary votes and the Greens do excellently (as in, Teague loses 10% and the Greens gain 10%), them coming 2nd isn't a reality. Teague, on the other hand, is also not going to do as well as he hoped because he's losing his seat.
Marisa Bell (ALP) Wins
Hurtle Vale
Not much to say here. Nat Cook wins lol.
Nat Cook (ALP) Retains
Kaurna
See above, but in this case its Chris Picton wins lol.
Chris Picton (ALP) Retains
Kavel
This might be one of the hardest seats to call. All sense should say that David Leach (ALP) will have this seat in the bag. However, if we consider the fact that Matt Schultz (IND) was endorsed by Kavel's retiring MP Dan Cregan as well as the area's quite popular federal MP Rebekha Sharkie, its created a feeling in my gut that Schultz's got it. The collapse of the Liberal party will only help him, since I think a significant number of voters will go over to him in the seat than One Nation. It'll be between him and Leach, but I think Schultz wins out. Also, Jacob Van Raalte comes last.
Matt Schultz (IND) Wins
King
See earlier Labor regions. Rhiannon Pearce wins lol.
Rhiannon Pearce (ALP) Retains
Lee
David Wilkins has perhaps run the most annoying/obnoxious Labor campaign in this election (do not get me started on the wobbleboarding), but it will work in his favour. He's well-known, seemingly well-liked, and taking over from a decently well-liked Labor member in Stephen Mulligan. He's going to win, while Merlindie Fardone (LIB) becomes another one of those 'wrong election' candidates.
David Wilkins (ALP) Wins
Light
The former seat of Tony Piccolo, Light seems like a place where One Nation or the Liberals could do well. They won't, even though I actually think this seat is more likely to push One Nation into 2nd than Elizabeth (its Gawler people).
James Agness (ALP) Wins
MacKillop
Nick McBride has been accussed of assault on multiple occasions, and as he seems to enjoy noting, has been wearing an ankle monitor throughout the campaign period. Unfortunately, I do not think that will damage his chances of winning. Mark Braes (ALP) and Rebekah Rosser (LIB) aren't bad candidates, and theoretically this is the perfect seat for Jason Virgo (ON). However, McBridge is just very popular in this area, and I cannot see him losing despite all of his horrible issues.
Nick McBridge (IND) Retains
Mawson
Jenni Mitton (ALP) wins, and I hope Tyler Green (ON, ex-Libertarian) does poorly.
Jenni Mitton (ALP) Wins
Morialta
Scott Kennedy (LIB) is again, another one of those 'in a different election' Liberal candidates. In another time, he'd have a shot, but not in this election. One person who I actually think will do better than expected is Jenn Tranter (GRN), she won't come third but I actually expect she may get close to 15%.
Matthew Marozzi (ALP) Wins
Morphett
I'm going to miss Stephen Patterson's teeth, because he ain't retaining.
Toby Priest (ALP) Wins
Mount Gambier
This is, by far, the hardest seat to call. One poll-shaped objects and a couple news articles seem to think Travis Fatchen (IND) is going to win, and I won't lie, I can't blame them. My gut currently says he will win as well, but don't be surprised if I wake up tomorrow morning and change this. It'll be a tough fight between him and Matthew Key (ALP), and I suspect perhaps SA's closest '4-way race' with Larmona Alexander (LIB) and Anne-Marie Loef (ON) also doing quite well. Who come's second will be very interesting to see on the night, since, in my opinion, that'll be entirely predicated on whose out 4th.
Travis Fatchen (IND) Wins
Narungga
Fraser Ellis (IND) retains though I do think One Nation shenanigans here could make this seat abit weird (in that they may come 3rd, or even 2nd).
Fraser Ellis (IND) Retains
Newland
In my eyes, Olivia Savvas (ALP) is potentially the next leader of the Labor party. She's a good operator, intelligent, and well-liked. That being said, there's no way she's losing this seat, although Sarai Birch (LIB) is yet again another one of the 'not at this election' Liberals.
Olivia Savvas (ALP) Retains
Ngadjuri
The only place where two sitting members, Tony Piccolo (ALP) and Penny Pratt (LIB) are fighting for the one seat with Piccolo having moved over from Light. I think this was a good choice, as he's very likely to win this.
Tony Piccolo (ALP) Wins
Playford
John Fulbrook (ALP) wins lol.
John Fulbrook (ALP) Retains
Port Adelaide
This is a massive field of candidates, and imo, it'll be a bloodbath in the lower areas. Claire Boan (IND) joining the race makes things tricky as does Gary Johnson (IND). With Labor MP Susan Close retiring from this seat, it seems like it should be a win for Cheyne Rich (ALP), and I think it will be, but I think Boan, Johnson, Scott Anderson (LIB), and Hayden Shaw (GRN) will do quite well as well. Anderson in particular is another case of 'in a different election maybe'. Joel Hendrie (ON) may do well, but I personally hope he does terribly. One final interesting bit for Port Adelaide is Anne McMenamin (IND) whose a part of Socialist Alliance. It will be interesting to see if an Independent Socialist not aligned with SA Socialists will get above last.
Cheyne Rich (ALP) Wins
Ramsay
Zoe Bettison (ALP) has got this in the bag.
Zoe Bettison (ALP) Retains
Reynell
See above (isn't funny to make the same joke twice?).
Katrine Hildyard (ALP) Retains
Schubert
Ashton Hurn (LIB), by all accounts, should probably be able to hold this seat. Her opponent is a 21-year old Uni Student whose here mostly for experience. Yet, I think becoming leader of the Liberal party is going to be her downfall. People don't like the party, and I think that will reflect on her immensely in the result. She'll go down fighting, but it won't be enough.
James Rothe (ALP) Wins
Stuart
As both Antony and I stated last night, Geoff Brock (IND) winning this seat last election was a miracle for him. That miracle won't happen again. His primary vote share will be eaten into by Labor and One Nation, and there's just nothing he can do about it. Doesn't help that David Ewings (ALP) is actually a competent and good candidate.
David Ewings (ALP) Wins
Taylor
Nick Champion (ALP) wins lol.
Nick Champion (ALP) Retains
Torrens
Meagan Spencer (ALP) is running quite a strong campaign, and in my opinion none of the candidates going up against her are as decent as candidates as she is. This might actually be a bit of a landslide for Labor.
Meagan Spencer (ALP) Wins
Unley
This is an interesting one because of the existence of Ryan Harrison (IND). Harrison, who was a Labor diehard until he lost pre-selection to a woman, has been quite the strong presence recently. Now, he won't win, but his presence alongside Dylan Kiernan (GRN) and Jason Wilkinson (ON) will change this relatively straightforward seat into abit of a weird one. Don't be shocked if Harrison does decently here.
Alice Rolls (ALP) Wins
Waite
The original news story seat because of Frank Pangallo's move to join the Liberals, I bet these days he wishes he took his chance as a LegCo Independent. He's going to lose, and I actually think it will be a bit of a beating. Look for him to end up below 30%, and maybe even closer to 20%.
Catherine Hutchesson (ALP) Retains
West Torrens
If you need to have an Italian name to win Hartley, you need to be named Koutsantonis to win West Torrens. Tom Koutsantonis (ALP) has this seat until he resigns or dies, and who knows which will come first.
Tom Koutsantonis (ALP) Retains
Wright
This is a boring seat, except for the fact that Carston Woodhouse (LIB) got disendorsed. If enough Liberal voters know and care, we could see something insane happen like Blair Boyer getting 80% of the primary vote, or One Nation actually being competitve in a seat that they have no right to be competitive in. More likely, people still vote for Woodhouse, and I hope its to a point where he comes 2nd, just because that would be hilarious.
Blair Boyer (ALP) Retains
Minor Party Predictions
Animal Justice Party
AJP has slowly becoming a 'significant' minor party (I know its an oxymoron) over the last decade, and this election gives them the chance to continue winning seats across the country. Unfortunately for them, I don't think this election will another success for them. They'll fall short of getting a seat in the Legislative Council, though don't be shocked if they get close (somewhere between the 14th to 12th zone).
Highest Lower House Result: 4.5%
Legislative Council Result: 3%
Australian Family Party
Another minor party who, according to the polls, is in with a shot this year. I don't think that shots true, as I think much of their vote is going to be cannibalised by One Nation. They have got candidates in every seat though, so there's a chance one does better than a couple percent (highly unlikely though).
Highest Lower House Result: 2.5%
Legislative Council Result: 1.5%
Family First
The more likely of the two Family parties to recieve a decent result, I think Family First have the same issue as the AFP. Their vote, fundamently, will be eaten into by One Nation (and also by the other family party). Maybe Deepa Mathew gets in the LegCo by the skin of her teeth, but I could see so many other options before her for the 11th seat.
Highest Lower House Result: 4%
Legislative Council Result: 3%
Jing Lee Better Community
This community is just Jing Lee, and despite the decieving amount of corflutes she has up, she ain't going to be doing much this election.
Highest Lower House Result: N/A
Legislative Council Result: 1%
Legalise Cannabis
The ultimate single issue party (besides One Nation), Legalise Cannabis is running a pretty broad campaign in SA then in other years. Fundamentally, they're a party pushing a want that most people are fine with, and for alot of disaffected voters, they're an easy party to put your no.1 preference behind. I don't think they'll get enough to win a LegCo seat this year, but it may be very close.
Highest Lower House Result: 3%
Legislative Council Result: 4%
Nationals
The Nationals aren't a force in SA, and even though this new group of Nationals has an actually 'okay' policy list and a eh group of candidates, they're going to be run over by every single other right-wing party in the state. Maybe they do okay in Flinders, but that's a seat that seems like it'll be hell.
Highest Lower House Result: 2%
Legislative Council Result: 1%
Sarah Game Fair Go for Australia
Before Chris McDermott left the party and trashed it, I thought Fair Go could be abit of a dark horse. Now, considering the fact that Sarah Game is literally putting out paid advertisements on facebook telling people to not preference her party (and further down, to vote 1 under the line for her no.2 candidate), I think the party's hopes are completely gone. It will be interesting to see how well McDermott does, especially considering that Fair Go are rather high on multiple parties' how to vote cards.
Highest Lower House Result: 2.5%
Legislative Council Result: 2%
Stephen Pallaras Real Change SA
Always a hard one to pick considering the party is mostly centrist except for its 'abolish parole' policies, I think there is a good chance it does well. I don't think many of its candidates will, but it could go decently far in the LegCo, though Pallaras will not be getting in.
Highest Lower House Result: 1.5%
Legislative Council Result: 2%
SA-Best
Ever since Connie Bonaros called Cory Bernardi a malaka, I've been big on SA-Best. I think Bonaros has run a decent campaign, and the fact that she has 4 additional LegCo candidates and a lower house candidate suggests she think she has a chance. I hope and predict she'll win her seat back, but nothing more.
Highest Lower House Result: 2%
Legislative Council Result: 5%
United Voice Australia Party
A title that should really read "Mark Aldridge's Cookers United Party", UVAP is probably going to do the worst out of all the parties. His candidates are terrible, his campaign is terrible, he keeps going on facebook talking about how bad everything is doing. There's just no hope here. In fact, the other day Mark posted saying he's fucked up finances for the party, and unless the party gets a good primary vote result, things ain't looking good. And so, I'll make the extra prediction that not a single UVAP candidate will get their deposit back.
Highest Lower House Result: 1.5%
Legislative Council Result: 1%