Labor's Peree Watson has conceded defeat in the battle for the seat of Upper Hunter.
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The National Party claimed the seat on Tuesday night, however, Ms Watson said she was keen to get the results from more booths on Wednesday before commenting.
On Thursday, she said it was obvious that Labor was not going to get the votes needed to claim an historic victory.
"It's a big ask for the people of Upper Hunter to vote Labor," she said.
"There were so many votes that were exhausted. I need to spend the next four years convincing people that Labor is not the enemy and if they don't want the current member they can change."
The National's Dave Layzell led Ms Watson by 1,594 votes on Thursday morning.
Mr Layzell had secured 52.4 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis with 70 per cent of the vote counted.
The result represented a 1.9 per cent swing to the National Party.
While Labor won the crucial Singleton pre-poll booth by 587 votes, it was unable to run-down the National's lead in other booths.
"There were so many votes from the Singleton pre-poll that didn't flow preference wise. But it wasn't just there, it was across the board," Ms Watson said.
"I think it's a lesson for both sides of politics; so many people are disenchanted by the major parties that they don't feel they can preference them."
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Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
