Early celebration BACKFIRES as Teal 'independent' is TURFED
Zoe Daniel’s early celebrations were cut short as postal votes swung the seat back to the Liberals.
Liberal candidate Tim Wilson has retaken the federal seat of Goldstein, toppling independent incumbent Zoe Daniel in a dramatic post-election twist.
Mainstream media networks have started to call the result, following days of counting that saw Daniel’s election night lead evaporate under a wave of postal votes favouring Wilson.
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The result marks a stunning turnaround after Daniel declared victory on Saturday night amid cheers, confetti, and the blaring of Sia’s Titanium. “Hope wins,” she told supporters from the stage, celebrating what she believed was a successful defence of her seat.
Zoe Daniel needs to hurry up and update her pronouns to was/were https://t.co/wOrE5uTOhw pic.twitter.com/UZNmODIe2a
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) May 6, 2025
But by Monday, Daniel was forced to temper her optimism. “It’s not clear yet unfortunately,” she admitted, as the gap narrowed and then flipped in favour of her opponent.
As she fell behind in the count, Daniel posted a video to social media insisting she would remain upbeat. “It’s a resilience test that’s for sure, but no matter what we will keep dancing,” she said. Comments on the post were disabled.
🚨#BREAKING: Zoe Daniel now TRAILS Tim Wilson after prematurely declaring victory on election night pic.twitter.com/nuTXMl4lDj
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) May 6, 2025
Goldstein was one of the highest-profile teal victories backed by Climate 200 in 2022, when Daniel unseated Wilson in what had been a safe Liberal stronghold. The grassroots fundraising group pumped more than $500,000 into her re-election campaign in 2025, making it one of its largest investments.
Wilson, who previously held the seat from 2016 to 2022, now returns to Canberra following a dramatic comeback that has shifted the mood in one of Melbourne’s wealthiest electorates.
Daniel’s premature declaration of victory highlights the risks of early celebration in tight contests. As the final postal ballots were tallied, her once-confident campaign was overtaken, handing the Liberals a symbolic win and a key seat back in their column.
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