Meet the charismatic surf physio who just made election history after wresting his hometown seat from the Liberals for the first time ever in a Labor landslide victory.
- Sam Boughton makes history for Labor in NSW
- First time Terrigal was removed from the Liberals
Sam Boughton likes to call people in his constituency ‘legends’, but he has just carved his own political legend into history by being the first Labor candidate to win the Terrigal seat in New South Wales.
Despite needing a strong swing of more than 12 per cent to claim the Central Coast seat from Liberal Adam Crouch, Boughton, 31, looks poised to take his place in the New South Wales parliament with a two-party preferred swing of more than 13 percent.
“I could never have imagined this happening,” said Boughton, who works as a physical therapist in senior care on the Central Coast.
I am quite surprised.
At a small but enthusiastic gathering of the Labor faithful on Saturday night, Boughton thanked those who helped him achieve the stunning victory.
Sam Boughton (pictured voting on Saturday) won Terrigal for Labor’s Central Coast NSW seat
“So many amazing people come together like this and have my back,” he said.
It’s not just the electoral map that Boughton is altering.
With his striking good looks, Mr. Boughton poses a stark challenge to the old adage that “politics is show business for ugly people.”
A keen surfer, his Instagram page features majestic shots and videos by professional photographer Dave Crowley showing Mr. Boughton riding confidently amid barrels and turquoise waves crashing overhead.
Unfortunately, he had another water source break over his head in mid-March when a main burst over his house, hampering his campaign for a day or two.
Mr. Boughton and his partner Katie live in the area and have strong community ties, something he highlighted during his campaign.
“I know this area like the back of my hand,” Boughton wrote on his campaign website.
‘I have spent years working as a physical therapist where I have met a variety of people from all over the community.
‘I have heard what is important to my community; good schools, adequately funded and staffed health care, and the protection of our unique environment.’
Mr Boughton (pictured with his partner Katie) campaigned on his strong local ties to the area.
Ahead of Saturday’s poll, Mr Boughton posted numerous photos of himself on social media with people he met on election campaigns, often labeling them “legends”.
“Too many captions to fit in one post,” he wrote on Friday.
Mr. Boughton attended Terrigal and Holgate Public Schools along with Central Coast Adventist School before completing his education at Newcastle University.
Job gains in the South Coast and Kiama mean the ALP now has all the seats in the South Coast and Central Coast of NSW.
Terrigal has only been in the hands of the Liberals since it was created in 2007.
Gosford’s headquarters had previously covered Terrigal and was held by the Liberals even as Labor held power at state level.
Chris Hartcher was the Liberal MP for Gosford from 1988 until the name change in 2007 and continued as a member of Terrigal from 2007 to 2015.
After it was revealed that Hartcher had allegedly accepted a series of questionable campaign donations, he did not run in the 2015 state election, which first elected Crouch.
Mr Boughton defeated Adam Crouch, who had held the former Liberal stronghold of Terrigal since 2015.