1988 Adelaide by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Adelaide on 6 February 1988. This was triggered by the resignation of Labor Party MP Chris Hurford to become Australia's Consul-General in New York City.

The election was won by Liberal candidate Mike Pratt with an 8.4 percent two-party swing on a 1.9 percent margin, defeating Labor candidate Don Farrell.

The 1988 Port Adelaide by-election occurred seven weeks later.

Candidates edit

Independent – Bronwyn Mewett.
Independent – Peter Consandine, republican campaigner who later founded the Republican Party of Australia.
Independent – Michael Brander.
Independent – John Litten.
Australian Democrats – Ian McLeish.
Unite Australia Party – Dorothy McGregor-Dey, who contested Mayo for the party in 1987.
National Party of Australia – Bryan Stokes, the party's 1987 candidate.
Australian Labor Party – Don Farrell, assistant secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). Farrell was later influential in the South Australian Labor Party, and serves in the Senate (2016–present), having served previously from 2008 to 2014.
Liberal Party of Australia – Mike Pratt, a local farmer.

Adelaide by-election, 1988^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Mike Pratt	26,777	44.4	+8.9
	Labor	Don Farrell	22,897	38.0	-10.9
	Democrats	Ian McLeish	7,097	11.8	+2.7
	Independent	Bronwyn Mewett	1,408	2.3	+2.3
	National	Bryan Stokes	1,000	1.7	-3.4
	Independent	Michael Brander	409	0.9	+0.9
	Independent	John Litten	367	0.6	+0.6
	Unite Australia	Dorothy McGregor-Dey	218	0.4	+0.4
	Republican	Peter Consandine	104	0.2	+0.2
Total formal votes			60,277	96.1
Informal votes			2,432	3.9
Turnout			62,709	88.0
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Mike Pratt	31,195	51.9	+8.4
	Labor	Don Farrell	28,967	48.2	-8.4
	Liberal gain from Labor		Swing	+8.4