Will Hodgman

2010 election

Hodgman contested the 2010 Tasmanian state election and the result was a hung parliament, with the Liberals and Labor on 10 seats each. The balance of power rested with the Tasmanian Greens, who won five seats. Before the election, the incumbent Premier David Bartlett stated that the party who won the most votes should form government. Since the Liberals won the popular vote by just over 6,700 votes, Bartlett and his caucus voted to give up power, and Bartlett advised the Governor of Tasmania, Peter Underwood, to invite Hodgman to form a government.^[3]

However, Hodgman never approached the Greens before the writs were returned, and Bartlett did not promise a Hodgman minority government would have a minimum period of support. Faced with the prospect of a government being defeated at its first sitting, Underwood recommissioned Bartlett as premier and left it to the Assembly to determine whether Labor had enough support to govern.^[4] Hodgman accused Bartlett of going back on a promise not to topple a Liberal minority government. ^[5]

2014 election

Before the 2014 Tasmanian state election, with polls suggesting the Liberals were positioned to win government, Hodgman had promised that he would only govern in majority. ABC News election analyst Antony Green suggested Hodgman's promise could have come back to haunt him if the Palmer United Party, which made a significant effort in the election, were to siphon off enough votes to deny the Liberals a majority.^[4] On election night, Hodgman led the Liberal Party to victory with a swing of over 9% against the incumbent Labor Party. The Liberals picked up an additional seat in every electorate except Denison, assuring that Hodgman would have a secure majority. They ultimately went on to win 15 seats–a comprehensive victory under current Tasmanian electoral practice (three seats each in the five electorates).

Hodgman himself topped the poll in Franklin, tallying 23,589 first preference votes on 35 percent of the first preference vote; the total number of electors in Franklin is 74,189.^[6] This result was achieved despite competing against both Giddings and Greens leader Nick McKim in this multi-member electorate. Hodgman was sworn in as the 45th Premier of Tasmania, alongside the members of his cabinet, on 31 March 2014, becoming only the fifth non-Labor premier in 80 years^[7] and only the third to govern in majority.

2018 election

Hodgman dissolved the parliament and called the election for March 3. Repeating his vow of four years earlier, Hodgman categorically ruled out governing in coalition or minority, saying, "We will govern alone or not at all." However it was thought unlikely at the time that the Liberals would keep their majority due to the strong polling of the Greens and the Jacqui Lambie Network.^[8]

During the campaign, Hodgman and the Liberals promised to keep poker machines in pubs and clubs.^[9][10] He claimed 5000 jobs were at risk if machines were banned, although fact checkers called this claim overblown.^[11]

The day before the election it was revealed that the Liberals had privately indicated to farming stakeholders they might relax the state's gun laws. The move was criticised by some opponents.^[12]

Ultimately, the Liberals suffered a swing of two seats, leaving them at 13 seats, just enough for a majority. It was only the second time in 87 years that the non-Labor forces in Tasmania had been reelected with an outright majority.

Hodgman is one of the few Australian state politicians to have never spent a day on the backbench. He has spent his entire tenure in the House of Assembly as deputy opposition leader (2002-2006), opposition leader (2006-2014) and premier (2014-present).