2016 Orange state by-election
A by-election for the seat of Orange in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 12 November 2016. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Nationals MP Andrew Gee on 6 May to contest the division of Calare at the 2016 federal election. The by-election was won by Philip Donato of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party—the first seat won by the party in a state lower house. By-elections for the seats of Canterbury and Wollongong were held on the same day. Background. The federal seat of  Calare was vacated at the 2016 federal election by the retirement of John Cobb, who had held the seat for the National Party since 2007, and the seat of Parkes before that. On 30 April 2016, state member for Orange Andrew Gee contested and won a Nationals preselection ballot against three other candidates. Although Orange was considered a safe Nationals seat with Gee holding the seat on a margin of 21.7 and the party having held the seat since 1947, a backlash against the Nationals was expected due in part to the Baird government's previous proposal to ban greyhound  racing and the merger of a number of local councils. Candidates. The eight candidates in ballot paper order are as follows: Results. <includeonly> Andrew Gee resigned to successfully contest Calare at the 2016 federal election.</includeonly>