By Melissa Brown

Topic: By-Elections

Anthony Marsh won the Nepean by-election for the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party kept the Nepean seat in Victoria.

Anthony Marsh replaces Sam Groth, a former tennis player and deputy Liberal leader.

The ABC's Casey Briggs called the by-election less than three hours after counting began.

Anthony Marsh's main opponents, Darren Hercus and Tracee Hutchison, each had around 20% of the primary vote.

Voters chose a new member to replace Sam Groth in the Nepean by-election.

The Liberal Party has held the Nepean seat for almost all of the past 40 years.

Anthony Marsh was elected to local government in 2020 as an independent.

He also owns a small business.

Mr Marsh joined the Liberal Party just before the by-election.

Anthony Marsh joined the Liberal Party just before the election.

He was expected to win, but analysts watched for a challenge from One Nation.

The by-election happened six months before the 2026 Victorian general election.

In his victory speech, Mr Marsh said becoming the Member for Nepean was an honor.

Mr Marsh promised to fight for the people of Nepean every day.

Anthony Marsh said his win followed a hard-fought campaign.

After his speech, Mr Marsh told the ABC it was a tough campaign.

One Nation and others joined the race, but Mr Marsh got the result he wanted.

Elections are competitive, but Mr Marsh gave it his all.

The party is focused on the next election in November.

There's another election coming, but Mr Marsh wants to show people they made the right choice.

Anthony Marsh was joined by senior Liberal party members, including leader Jess Wilson.

Mr Marsh entered the Liberal gathering behind Opposition Leader Jess Wilson.

David Southwick introduced Mr Marsh, saying it was a tough campaign but a good result.

The people of Nepean said yes to Jess, according to David Southwick.

Opposition leader Jess Wilson described Anthony Marsh as a passionate local representative.

Ms Wilson accused Labor of neglecting the Nepean electorate.

The government did not run a candidate in the by-election.

This shows how little they care about people on the peninsula.

Darren Hercus accused the Liberal party of spreading false information about One Nation's policies.

One Nation candidate Darren Hercus said the Liberal party caused his support to drop.

Mr Hercus said the claim that One Nation wanted to privatize the local hospital was false.

He gave the Liberal party a roll of toilet paper, saying it was for all the false information.

Even if they don't win, Mr Hercus said they stuck to their principles.

The by-election will help launch Mr Hercus's campaign for the general election.

One Nation will go hard in the next election, according to Mr Hercus.

Independent candidate Tracee Hutchison said it was a tough campaign.

Tracee Hutchison thanked her supporters and said she was proud of their efforts.

This is my hometown, and I was born here, said Tracee Hutchison.

She vowed to stand again in the next election.

Tracee Hutchison said democracy is a privilege and it's humbling to see people vote.

The big parties threw everything at this campaign, but the local campaign showed people have power.

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