chance joined the labor party in 1971. he first stood for parliament at the 1983 federal election, running for the house of representatives in the division of o'connor (a safe seat for the liberal party). chance contested three more federal elections over the following decade (in 1984, 1987, and 1990), but lost to wilson tuckey of the liberal party on each occasion. his share of the vote in o'connor decreased at every election, both in terms of first preferences and on the two-party-preferred count, although this was consistent with labor's nationwide trends.