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Cheryl Hammer ‘disappointed’ with result, ‘shocked’ by Liberal wipe-out across the state
Liberal candidate for Shepparton Cheryl Hammer was “shocked and disappointed” by the result in the seat and across the state.
Ms Hammer was buoyed by her loss in 2018, having got far closer to outgoing State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed than many expected, but fell back to just 20 per cent of the primary vote this count.
She said having three candidates in the running changed the landscape significantly.
“After the result we got four years ago, we hoped I would have been a strong contender but having three strong candidates made it a different campaign,” she said.
“I’m one of the 70 or 80 Liberal candidates running across the state and we thoughts there’d be big swings (to Liberal), but it wasn’t there.
“We’re shocked.”
While the Nationals had a good night in Victoria, picking up three seats — Shepparton, Morwell and Mildura — it was a disaster for Liberals across the state, who failed to make inroads into Labor seats and faced a strong challenge from inner-city independents.
Ms Hammer said the results, which from very early on indicated she would not win the seat, “surprised” her and her volunteers.
“The booths I was at and the booths my volunteers were at, we felt the feeling was strong,” she said.
“We had a strong Nationals candidate this time and I guess looking back people asked if it’s the Liberal brand and we don’t know.
“We’re disappointed, definitely.”
She confirmed this would be her last tilt for the Liberals in Shepparton, and said she would take some time before determining her next step.
"After last time I gave myself a break for about five weeks to have a bit of a rest and I’ll have a break again now,“ Ms Hammer said.
“I’ll still be involved with the community and there are still issues I campaigned on which I want to do more with, but we’ve got a farm and it’s not far off harvest time so I might herd some sheep.
“I found out a few weeks ago I’m going to be a grandmother for the first time so I could be a full-time nanna this next year, who knows.”