title: 2021 Stretton state by-election
text: # 2021 Stretton state by-election
  
  A by-election was held on 24 July 2021 for the Queensland Legislative Assembly seat of Stretton following the death of Duncan Pegg.
  
  ## Background
  
  Duncan Pegg was first elected at the 2015 election defeating incumbent Freya Ostapovitch on a swing of over 14%. Ostapovitch had won the previously safe seat for Labor during the Liberal National Party of Queensland landslide of the 2012 election. In subsequent elections, Pegg would increase the margin of Stretton back into safe territory for Labor and saw a nearly 5% swing to himself in the 2020 election. On 22 April 2021, Pegg announced that he would be resigning from his seat to focus on his health revealing that he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and that it was a terminal illness. Pegg's death was announced by his electorate office on 10 June 2021.
  
  Two-party-preferred vote in Stretton, 2009–2020 :
  
  | Election | Election | 2009 | 2012 | 2015 | 2017 | 2020 |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Labor | 59.50% | 40.45% | 54.98% | 59.90% | 64.82% |
  | | Liberal National | 40.50% | 59.55% | 45.02% | 40.10% | 35.18% |
  | Swing | Swing | +5.0 | +19.03 | +14.54 | +4.6 | +4.93 |
  | Government | Government | ALP | LNP | ALP | ALP | ALP |
  
  ## Key dates
  
  | Date | Event |
  | - | - |
  | 29 June 2021 | Issue of the writ |
  | 5 July 2021 | Close of electoral rolls |
  | 7 July 2021 | Close of nominations |
  | 12 July 2021 | Early voting begins |
  | 24 July 2021 | Polling day |
  
  ## Candidates
  
  Candidates (in ballot paper order) :
  
  | Greens | Andrea Wildin | Health worker and advocate |
  | - | - | - |
  | Labor | James Martin | Electorate officer for Stretton |
  | Liberal National | Jim Bellos OAM APM | Queensland Police Service sergeant and liaison officer |
  | Informed Medical Options | Jasmine Melhop | Alternative medicine practitioner |
  | Animal Justice | Suzanne Clarke | Animal and environmental advocate |
  
  ## Results
  
  2021 Stretton state by-election :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Labor | James Martin | 14,314 | 56.39 | −0.20 |
  | | Liberal National | Jim Bellos | 8,322 | 32.78 | +2.58 |
  | | Greens | Andrea Wildin | 1,654 | 6.52 | −2.20 |
  | | Informed Medical Options | Jasmine Melhop | 616 | 2.43 | +2.43 |
  | | Animal Justice | Suzanne Clarke | 478 | 1.88 | +1.88 |
  | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 25,384 | 96.61 | +0.03 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 891 | 3.39 | −0.03 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,275 | 77.37 | −10.43 |
  | Two-party-preferred result ||||||
  | | Labor | James Martin | 16,244 | 63.94 | −0.87 |
  | | Liberal National | Jim Bellos | 9,160 | 36.06 | +0.87 |
  | | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | −0.87 | |
  