Election 2026: Nicola Willis never contemplated running in safe National seat

Nicola Willis - who is at risk of not making it back into parliament on the National Party list under current polling - says she never contemplated running in the safe seat of Kaipara ki Mahurangi.It's a seat previously held, under a different name, by former leader and prime minister Sir John Key.Asked by RNZ on Monday if she'd considered it, Willis said running in the seat was never an option for her."I've got four kids: three in secondary school, one in primary school, and so moving to Auckland, it wasn't an option for my family."But more to the point, I wanted to see that community represented by the best representative possible, and I'm confident that we selected a candidate who will do just that," she said."If New Zealanders want to see National leading the next government, we need their party votes. And I'm out campaigning for party votes across the country. It's a really important job for our party and for our country."Former National Party finance minister and deputy leader Bill English lived in Wellington while holding the seat of Clutha-Southland.Jessica Rowe is National's candidate for the electorate.