Just two Māori candidates have made the top 20 of the National Party’s list for the 2026 election, despite changes that have propelled several sitting MPs and candidates up the rankings.
Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka is the highest-ranked Māori candidate at number 11, climbing 13 places from 24th on National’s 2023 party list.
He currently sits at number 10 in National’s caucus rankings.
Rangitata MP James Meager is the other Māori candidate inside the top 20, ranked 18th.
Meager (Ngāi Tahu) entered Parliament after winning Rangitata at the 2023 election. He jumped from 69th.
The rankings are National’s party list for the 7 November election and are different from the make-up of its current parliamentary caucus.
Under MMP, the party list determines which candidates are elected as list MPs once electorate victories and National’s overall share of the party vote are taken into account.
Electorate MPs can therefore be ranked well down the list while still having a strong prospect of returning to Parliament by winning their seats.
Asked why there were no Māori candidates in National’s top 10, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon pointed to the two Māori candidates in the top 20 and others further down the list.
“Yeah, look, we have, you know, two Māori, I think, in our top 20, but, you know, I’m proud of the fact that we’ve got people like Dale Stephens, you know, that we think very highly of, as I said, you know, highly ranked.”
Luxon also pointed to Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Coral Raukawa and Māori MPs already within the party.
“And obviously we’ve got an outstanding Minister in Tama Potaka who we just rate so highly and think so highly of.”
Raukawa is ranked 56th on the new party list and National’s Te Tai Hauaru candidate.
The last candidate representing National for that seat was Harete Hipango-Brownlie, who received five percent in the 2023 election when she sat at 31 on the list.
Hipango-Brownlie is now standing for New Zealand First in the Whanganui electorate in November.
Luxon said National had improved its representation since he became an MP in 2020. After that election, National had two Māori MPs in the top 10, Simon Bridges and Shane Reti.
“So I think we’ve done a better job from where I found the party in 2020 to where we sit today. And I’m pretty proud of that progress.”
The number of Māori candidates in National’s top 20 has increased from one to two since the last election, although no Māori candidate has made the top 10 this time.
In 2023, Shane Reti was the only Māori candidate inside National’s top 20, ranked fourth, but he is stepping down at this year’s election.
Potaka’s rise from 24th to 11th is one of the more significant movements at the top of the list and reflects his elevation within National since entering Parliament through the Hamilton West byelection in 2022.
Further down the list are several other Māori candidates, including Te Rarawa executive Dale Stephens at 23, Dan Bidois at 31, Dana Kirkpatrick at 33, New Plymouth MP David MacLeod at 46 and Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Coral Raukawa at 56.
Stephens was highlighted by National as one of the candidates it hopes to bring into Parliament, with party president Sylvia Wood pointing specifically to his governance and community experience.
“Executive Dale Stephens (Te Rarawa), who brings a wealth of experience in governance and as a community advocate,” Wood said.
Deputy Leader Nicola Willis was also questioned about Māori representation on the list, after facing iwi chairs alongside Potaka at the National Iwi Chairs Forum in Queenstown recently.
Asked whether the list reflected concerns raised by Māori in ensuring adequate representation, Willis pointed first to Potaka and the regard in which she said he was held by iwi leaders.
“Well, what I saw in that room was the high regard in which Tama Pōtaka is held. He has been an incredible ambassador for our party and te ao Māori and has achieved a lot as a Minister and has been very influential in terms of the agendas of other Ministers in our Cabinet.”
Willis also pointed to Māori representation within National’s existing caucus, as well as Stephens’ placing at 23.
“I’m really pleased to see Dale Stephens coming through.
“He’s someone who has a presence in Te Ao Māori who has been a faithful member of the National Party for many, many years, so we’ll be working hard for every party vote so we can bring him to the team.”
Pressed on why that was not enough to put Potaka inside the top 10, Willis defended the party’s ranking process.
“Well look, as the Prime Minister has said, this list reflects a deliberation that happens through the party process and reflects something that we’re all very happy with and confident in.”
The list also contains some dramatic movements among National’s sitting MPs.
Scott Simpson has jumped 36 places from 55th in 2023 to 19th, Cameron Brewer has climbed from 62nd to 20th, Mike Butterick from 61st to 21st and Stuart Smith from 56th to 22nd.
By contrast, former minister Melissa Lee has fallen from 13th to 30th, Catherine Wedd from 23rd to 37th, and Suze Redmayne from 21st to 32nd.
National Party president Sylvia Wood said the 72-person list combined experienced ministers and MPs with new candidates.
“Our 2026 list brings together experienced ministers, hardworking local MPs, and new talent with real-world experience, ready to deliver for Kiwis so they can continue to get ahead,” she said.
National Party list for the 2026 general election
Movements compare the 2026 party list with National’s 2023 general election party list, not its current caucus rankings.
- Christopher Luxon (-)
- Nicola Willis (-)
- Chris Bishop (-)
- Simeon Brown (+5)
- Erica Stanford (+2)
- Paul Goldsmith (-1)
- Louise Upston (-1)
- Mark Mitchell (+3)
- Gerry Brownlee (+5)
- Todd McClay (+2)
- Tama Potaka (+13)
- Matt Doocey (-4)
- Simon Watts (+4)
- Chris Penk (+4)
- Penny Simmonds (+1)
- Nancy Lu (+4)
- Nicola Grigg (+2)
- James Meager
- Scott Simpson (+36)
- Cameron Brewer (+42)
- Mike Butterick (+40)
- Stuart Smith (+34)
- Dale Stephens (+6)
- Mahesh Muralidhar (+19)
- Katie Milne
- Angee Nicholas (+13)
- Katie Nimon (-5)
- Tom Rutherford
- Carl Bates (+18)
- Melissa Lee (-17)
- Dan Bidois (+29)
- Suze Redmayne (-11)
- Dana Kirkpatrick (+11)
- Dr Carlos Cheung (+14)
- Grant McCallum
- Ryan Hamilton
- Catherine Wedd (-14)
- Tim Costley (+16)
- Dr Vanessa Weenink (+1)
- Rosemary Bourke (-8)
- Blair Cameron (-6)
- Kristine Asuncion
- Barbara Kuriger (-7)
- Greg Fleming (+21)
- Rima Nakhle (-4)
- David MacLeod
- Miles Anderson (+12)
- Hamish Campbell (+15)
- Tim van de Molen (+9)
- Joseph Mooney (+3)
- Sam Uffindell (+6)
- Emma Chatterton (-25)
- Ankit Bansal (-1)
- Matthew French (-5)
- Candace Kinser
- Coral Raukawa
- Tracy Summerfield
- Agnes Loheni
- Lalit Arya
- Matthew Evetts
- Lloyd Budd
- Matthew Paul
- Sunil Kumar
- Karunā Muthu (-13)
- Alexandra Davids
- Ghouse Majeed
- Jonathan Pitts
- Dr Zabeen Lateef
- Troy Elliott
- Robin Atwall
- Ash Nayyar
- Maria Sanson
