Labor will retain the seats of Braddon and Longman after the bitter Super Saturday by-elections.
ABC election analyst Antony Green called the Braddon seat for Justine Keay just after 7pm with 23.8 per cent of the vote counted.
She was helped by preferences from independent Craig Garland to overcome a challenge from the Liberal’s Brett Whiteley.
Labor’s candidate Susan Lamb polled strongly in early counting of the Longman votes and secured a swing of three per cent.
Labor will retain the seats of Braddon and Longman after the bitter Super Saturday by-elections (pictured are Susan Lamb and Tanya Plibersek)
‘On that basis, we would say that Susan Lamb will win Longman,’ Green said.
‘At the moment, as in Braddon, everything is looking good for the Labor Party.’
Ms Lamb has around 54 per cent of the two party preferred count ahead of Mr Ruthenberg on 46 per cent, the Australian Electoral Commission’s website shows with just over 10 per cent of the vote counted.
Mr Green said he expected Ms Lamb to win, but there is a large number of pre-poll votes to be counted.
‘What this means is we will be here for a long time before we know the result in Longman tonight.’
Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman said the party was not giving up on Longman saying there was still a long way to go.
One Nation’s Matthew Stephen has eaten into the Liberal National vote, but up to 40 per cent of One Nation preferences are going to Labor.
At the Labor party function, loud cheers and whistles went up every time the Longman count was shown on the large screen at the front of the room, showing Ms Lamb ahead of Mr Ruthenberg.
Longman was one of the tightest of the five Super Saturday by-elections.
Before Ms Lamb was forced out of parliament because of dual citizenship issues, she held the seat on a razor-thin margin of 0.8 per cent.
The Tasmanian seat of Braddon in Australia’s ‘Super Saturday’ by-election was the first of five seats to be declared.
Super Saturday results: Labor wins a bitter battle for the Tasmanian seat of Braddon after a tense campaign
Ms Keay was forced out of parliament because of her dual citizenship earlier in 2018.
Her opponent, Mr Whiteley, was trying to return to the seat he once held for the Liberals before he was ousted by Ms Keay in the 2016 general election.
Both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten campaigned in the area early on Saturday morning.
Ms Keay, whose campaign has been bolstered by a steady stream of senior Labor politicians, said Labor was in touch with the needs of Tasmanians.
‘It was nice of him to turn up,’ Ms Keay said, criticising Mr Turnbull for coming in for ‘fleeting visits’ when it suited.
‘It was actually the first time I’ve actually shook hands with the Prime Minister.’
‘But I had to go to him to do it.’
Ms Keay was forced out of parliament because of her dual citizenship
She cast her vote in her home town, something Liberal hopeful Mr Whiteley can’t do as he lives outside the electorate.
The Liberals campaigned heavily on job growth, while Labor wants to fix a health system they say is ailing.
Braddon is one of five by-elections being held across the country, mostly sparked by dual-citizenship resignations.
The seat of Longman had also seen concerted campaigning by both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mr Shorten.
The Prime Minister was in the seat on Friday, while Mr Shorten flew into Longman late on Saturday after spending the morning at the other end of the country in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon.
While Turnbull has been campaigning hard in the regions, no government has won a by-election from an opposition in 98 years.
As such, expectations weren’t high as the ‘Super Saturday’ election date loomed.
Turnbull again talked down about his team’s prospects while campaigning in Braddon on Saturday.
‘Let’s be fair dinkum about it, Labor should be miles ahead,’ he said.
‘What that tells you is that many … are disgusted and appalled by Labor’s lies.’
Turnbull was referencing his belief that Labor lied to voters regarding health spending cuts.
When asked if the by-election in Longman came down to a test of his own personal leadership, opposition leader Bill Shorten refuted.
‘What it is, is a test for whether or not this country wants more of the same under Malcolm Turnbull, tax cuts for big banks, or whether or not we want the government to do better. This is a simple proposition – hospitals before banks.’
The Liberals campaigned heavily on job growth, while Labor wants to fix a health system they say is ailing