| Country: | South Australia |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | 31 January 2015 |
| Candidate1: | Sam Duluk |
| Party1: | Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) |
| Popular Vote1: | 9,740 |
| Percentage1: | 46.9% |
| Swing1: | 4.1pp |
| Candidate2: | Mark Ward |
| Party2: | Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) |
| Popular Vote2: | 6,927 |
| Percentage2: | 33.4% |
| Swing2: | 4.8pp |
| Candidate3: | Jody Moate |
| Party3: | Greens South Australia |
| Popular Vote3: | 2,584 |
| Percentage3: | 12.5% |
| Swing3: | 2.8pp |
| 1Blank: | TPP |
| 2Blank: | TPP swing |
| 1Data1: | 53.1% |
| 2Data1: | 5.0pp |
| 1Data2: | 46.9% |
| 2Data2: | 5.0pp |
| MP | |
| Before Election: | Iain Evans |
| Before Party: | Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) |
| After Election: | Sam Duluk |
| After Party: | Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) |
A by-election for the seat of Davenport in the South Australian House of Assembly was held on 31 January 2015. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Party of Australia MP and former Liberal leader Iain Evans, who retained the seat at the 2014 election on a 58.1 (−2.8) percent two-party-preferred vote.[1] [2] [3] Liberal Sam Duluk went on to win the seat despite a five-point two-party swing, turning the historically safe seat of Davenport in to a marginal for the first time.[4]
The by-election was held on the same day as the 2015 Queensland state election.
| Date | Event[5] | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 January 2015 | Writ of election issued by the Governor | |
| 13 January 2015 | Close of electoral rolls | |
| 16 January 2015 | Close of nominations | |
| 31 January 2015 | Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm |
| 5 candidates in ballot paper order | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party of Australia | Sam Duluk | Accountant. Liberal candidate for seat of Fisher at the previous election. | ||
| Family First Party | Natasha Edmonds | Family First candidate for Davenport at the previous election. | ||
| Independent Australian Democrats | Jeanie Walker | Involved in property investing and management and is an Aboriginal Family Violence Case Manager. Contested the 2014 Fisher by-election. | ||
| Australian Labor Party | Mark Ward | City of Mitcham councillor for last eight years, has served as Deputy Mayor. Urrbrae Agricultural High School teacher. Centennial Park Cemetery board member. | ||
| Greens | Jody Moate | Retail sector worker. Volunteers with numerous community groups. | ||
Liberal Sam Duluk won the seat with a -4.1 point swing, with the Liberal party failing to win outright and relying on preferences.[4] South Australian Newspoll at the time of the Davenport by-election recorded a statewide seven percent two-party swing from Liberal to Labor. ABC election analyst Antony Green described the Davenport by-election as "another poor result for the South Australian Liberal Party"[6] following the 2014 Fisher by-election which saw Labor go from minority to majority government following a 7.3 percent two-party swing.[7] As with the Fisher by-election, much of the anti-Liberal swing was attributed to the unpopularity of then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and a remark from then Defence Minister David Johnston several days before the Fisher by-election that he wouldn't trust South Australia's Australian Submarine Corporation to "build a canoe".[8] [9] [10] Additionally, just a couple of days before the Davenport by-election, Abbott's infamous knighting of Prince Philip occurred.[11] [12] [13]