As the election campaign wore on, all signs pointed to Fiona Phillips retaining Gilmore.

But the magnitude of the swing towards the Labor incumbent was a major surprise after she had scraped home by a paltry 373 votes three years ago to defeat Liberal rival Andrew Constance after three weeks of counting after election day.

This time around, Phillips strolled to the finish line with a swing of 4.9 per cent in her direction to be able to claim victory before 10pm on Saturday to the delight of her supporters who had joined the 55-year-old at Currarong Bowling and Recreation Club.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Constance, who midway through the evening took the microphone at the gathering for his supporters to say there’s still a long way to go and the fight is not over.

Constance was putting on a brave face and while the massive gap that Phillips held early in the evening did dwindle away slightly as the night wore on, it was only a matter of time before the nationwide swing against the Coalition wiped out any chance he had of reversing the 2022 result.

The unpopularity of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who lost his own seat of Dickson in Brisbane, meant that the Coalition has suffered what is likely to be its worst result in history.

With 14 seats still undecided, the Coalition has been able to claim just 36 seats with the ALP holding 88 to comfortably form a majority government.

Phillips’ win in Gilmore continued a theme for the Illawarra and South Coast of Labor domination.

Alison Byrnes waltzed it in at Cunningham, a Labor stronghold, The Disability Trust CEO Carol Berry won her first election in Whitlam despite a slight swing to the Liberals to replace the retiring Stephen Jones, and Kristy McBain reinforced her stranglehold on Eden-Monaro.

When the campaign started in Gilmore, it appeared Constance had momentum on his side.

But as the weeks rolled on and Dutton’s policies failed to get any traction and his nuclear solution to Australia’s energy problem was widely panned, Constance’s chances were nuked.

A poll compiled by YouGov two weeks before election day pointed to Phillips holding a 54-46 per cent advantage on a two-party preferred basis.

Neither camp wanted to comment on the record about the polling in the lead-up to Saturday’s vote but it was clear the Libs were nervous and Phillips’ camp was quietly confident of retaining the seat by a more considerable margin than last time.

And in the end the swing to the incumbent was even greater with Phillips enjoying a 55-45 per cent split.

The latest count, with 81 per cent of the vote logged, had Phillips a tick under 10,000 votes clear of Constance on a two-party preferred basis with a lead of nearly 4000 on primaries, as of late Sunday afternoon.

“We did what some people would say was the impossible,” she said.

“I’m here to say this was a win for everyone. This was a win for what is right and for our community.”

“I couldn’t be more proud and thankful. To everybody who voted for me and put their trust in me, I thank them.”

Community Independent candidate Kate Dezarnaulds fell short of her expectations to register less than 8 per cent of the primary vote but she said the Independent for South Coast organisation that was established in December will continue to run independent candidates in state and federal elections in the future.