THE Nationals haven’t given up on retaining the state seat of Monaro, tipped to have been lost in Saturday’s NSW general election. 

Speaking in Canberra on 2CC’s “CityNews Sunday Roast” program on Sunday, federal nationals leader David Littleproud said he was still hopeful sitting member Nichole Overall would retain the seat.

He said, with barely half the votes counted in the seat, that the uncounted pre-poll numbers would favour Overall.

Counting will resume tomorrow, but as of Saturday night Labor candidate and former member for Monaro Steve Whan was ahead on first-preference votes, 11,861 to Overall’s 11,196.

Securing a 15.46 per cent swing to Labor, on preferences Whan holds 53.9 per cent of the vote compared to Overall’s 46.1 per cent. He has secured strong support in Queanbeyan.

Whan stepped into the election with only five weeks to go after former Raiders captain Terry Campese pulled out of the Labor spot in a media storm over a revealing party video.

If elected, Whan, a former NSW minister, would bring experience to an incoming Labor government after 12 years in opposition.

Overall won the seat a year ago after the mercurial NSW Nationals Leader and Deputy Premier John Barilaro suddenly resigned. Barilaro had an 11 per cent advantage at the last election in 2019.

On current numbers, Whan is sitting on a 15.46 per cent swing to Labor.

Whan was elected as the member for Monaro at the 2003 state election.

At the 2011 state election, he was defeated by Barilaro. Less than three months later, Whan was appointed to the Legislative Council to fill a casual vacancy. In 2014 he was preselected as the Labor candidate for Monaro at the 2015 state election, but lost again to Barilaro.