1935 Newcastle by-election
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A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Newcastle on 1 June 1935. This was triggered by the death of long-serving Labor MP David Watkins. Following Watkins' death, only Billy Hughes and Senator George Pearce remained of those elected at the first federal election in 1901.
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1 June 1935
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The by-election was won by Watkins' son, David Oliver Watkins. As Newcastle was the only remaining New South Wales seat held by the federal Labor Party, the by-election was closely fought with the breakaway New South Wales Labor Party, supporters of the controversial former premier Jack Lang.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | David Watkins | 25,374 | 49.0 | â8.2 | |
| Labor (NSW) | James Smith | 22,135 | 42.7 | +8.2 | |
| Social Credit | Hilton Sykes | 4,302 | 8.3 | +8.3 | |
| Total formal votes | 51,811 | 98.3 | |||
| Informal votes | 908 | 1.7 | |||
| Turnout | 52,719 | 93.7 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | David Watkins | 27,867 | 53.8 | â4.3 | |
| Labor (NSW) | James Smith | 23,944 | 46.2 | +4.3 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | â4.3 | |||