Watch: Christopher Luxon reveals National Party list for election

The National Party has released its list for the 2026 election, with its top ranked team largely unchanged from current rankings. 

As per the party’s constitution, leader Christopher Luxon and deputy Nicola Willis take the top two spots, followed by Chris Bishop, Simeon Brown and Erica Stanford. 

The confirmation of Bishop at number three comes after questions over whether the Hutt South MP would retain that spot. 

He is rumoured to have been behind previous destabilisation of Luxon’s leadership, though has always publicly denied it. 

Goldsmith is at number six, followed by Louise Upston, and then Mark Mitchell. 

Those top eight are all unchanged from current rankings. 

National leader Christopher Luxon announces his party list, alongside deputy leader Nicola Willis and party president Sylvia Wood at the Rydges Hotel at Wellington Airport. Photo / Adam Pearse 

Luxon said he had struck the right balance between “very experienced ministers, some hardworking MPs and also some exciting new talent”. 

“It’s about making sure we’ve got the team that can actually take New Zealand forward”. 

The first change is Gerry Brownlee at number nine. He is currently listed 20th on the National Party website, given he is the Speaker and not counted among the top ranking ministers. 

He is running as a list-only candidate so will need the list to enter Parliament. 

Another list-only candidate is Nancy Lu, who has been given the 16th position. 

New candidates that have been ranked highly include Dale Stephens in Christchurch Central (23), Mahesh Muralidhar in Tamaki (24), Katie Milne in West Coast-Tasman (25) and Angee Nicholas (26). 

Luxon said there was “more to do” in terms of getting women into highly ranked winnable spots, but commended the work of National Party President Sylvia Wood in bringing new candidates through. 

Deputy Leader Nicola Willis pointed out the party had several women candidates who might win electorates. 

Former broadcasting Minster Melissa Lee was dropped from 13 at the last election to 30 this time around. 

Luxon said Lee had been “incredible” and “engaged with her community” but did not explain why she had been dropped. 

Announcing the list, Luxon answered questions about his performance this week. There has been commentary that this was one of Luxon’s weaker performances as leader. 

“As I often say to you, a politician complaining about the press is like a farmer complaining about the weather,” Luxon said. 

National deputy leader Nicola Willis hoped her party would do well in what were considered more marginal electorates. Photo / Adam Pearse 

He said the media should focus on what he called Labour’s lack of policy. 

“I have to be honest, if I was in Opposition coming into an election with as little policy as they [Labour] are, with as little interrogation you [the media] would have crucified me,” he said. 

The positions of several high-profile MPs, including Chris Bishop and Paul Goldsmith, had been anticipated with interest given they may need the list to have a place in Parliament after the election. 

Bishop, currently the third-ranked National MP, holds the Hutt South electorate. But with it being a marginal seat and National’s general support on the slide, there is a view he will likely lose it. 

Goldsmith and National’s Gerry Brownlee are in Parliament at the moment as list MPs. Brownlee is running at the election as a list-only candidate, meaning he won’t stand in an electorate, while Goldsmith is unlikely to topple David Seymour in Epsom. 

Depending on how many electorates National retains at the election, there could be a limited number of list positions in Parliament available to candidates. 

The first list spot in Parliament will likely be taken by deputy leader Nicola Willis, who is also not running for an electorate. 

Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s chief political reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.