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One Nation is polling at 25%, ahead of Labor at 23%, five months before the election.

Contains AI summaries

The current state polling.

One Nation is polling at levels in Victoria that would have been unthinkable at the last state election, drawing primary-vote support in the low-double-digits in several outer-suburban and regional seats and threatening to reshape preference flows at the November 2026 poll.

The polling picture

Statewide, One Nation's primary vote is sitting between 6% and 9% in the major published polls — up from 2% at the 2022 election. In specific outer-suburban electorates the number is higher: internal party polling shared with News Corp put the vote in Melton, Kalkallo and parts of Casey above 12%.

The rise mirrors what has happened federally, where Pauline Hanson's party lifted its Senate vote in Victoria to 4.7% at the 2025 federal election.

What is driving it

Three issues dominate the party's Victorian pitch: immigration and population growth, community safety, and energy costs. Each maps to real anxieties in the outer growth corridors, where population has grown 15–25% in five years, infrastructure has lagged, and residential electricity bills are up sharply since 2022.

Focus-group work by both major parties suggests One Nation is drawing from three sources: 2022 Coalition voters disappointed with Battin's centrist positioning, disengaged voters returning to the ballot, and a smaller cohort of former Labor voters in traditionally working-class outer suburbs.

Preference implications

The bigger effect may be in preferences rather than seat wins. Under Victoria's optional preferential lower house system, One Nation's how-to-vote card matters. In 2022 the party preferenced the Coalition ahead of Labor in most seats but distributed loosely in others. A tighter deal for 2026 could shift the two-party swing by a percentage point or more in a handful of marginals.

The Legislative Council, elected by proportional representation across eight regions, is where One Nation is most likely to gain actual seats. A quota is 16.7% per region; the party is competitive for the final seat in North-Eastern Metropolitan and Northern Victoria regions.

Major-party response

Labor has largely avoided direct engagement, calculating that responding elevates the party. The Coalition is walking a tighter line, competing for the same voters on cost of living and safety without adopting the immigration rhetoric that Battin has repeatedly ruled out.

The Teals — Kate Chaney-style community independents — are running in three inner-eastern seats and represent a very different challenge for the Coalition. Where One Nation threatens the Coalition base in the outer suburbs, the Teals threaten Liberal-held blue-ribbon seats like Kew and Brighton.

What to watch

Whether One Nation lodges candidates in every lower-house seat, how the how-to-vote cards land in October, and whether the final Newspoll shows the primary vote holding above 6% — historically the level below which minor parties collapse into major-party preferences on election night.

Sources
Freshwater Strategy / Herald Sun

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