Original sentence: The seat, traditionally a Labor stronghold, had been held by independent Liz Cunningham, who retired at the election, since 1995
Edited sentence: Cunningham had held the seat without serious difficulty for most of her tenure.He actually won enough votes on the first count to reclaim the seat for Labor without the need for preferences.However, when Cunningham retired in 2015, Butcher won the seat comfortably, taking 61 percent of the two-party vote--enough to turn Gladstone into a safe Labor seat at one stroke.The seat, traditionally a Labor stronghold, had been held by independent Liz Cunningham since 1995