WEEKS and months of campaigning has come to an end for Bathurst's NSW election candidates, who can do little more now than wait for the result.
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On Saturday, the remainder of the electorate's voters will take to the polls to vote for their NSW Government representative.
They will have six candidates to choose between for the Legislative Assembly: incumbent Paul Toole (Nationals), Beau Riley (Labor), Brenden May (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers), David Harvey (The Greens), Michael Begg (Sustainable Australia) and Tim Hansen (Keep Sydney Open).
If Mr Toole is re-elected, he will enter his third consecutive term as the member for Bathurst.
On Friday, he said his campaign for re-election was not weeks or months in the making, but rather years.
He hopes this will be taken into account at the polls, enabling him to continue working for his community.
"In politics, you can take nothing for granted, but I'd like to hope that our hard work over the last four years shows that we have been working for the Bathurst electorate," Mr Toole said.
"I'm a local man, I'm a family man, and as I'm raising my children I want to make sure we have the best roads, the best schools, and the best health and sporting facilities.
"As my parents and other people grow older, I want to ensure there are services there to continue to care for them."
Opinion polls suggest his biggest rivals for the seat will be Mr Riley and Mr May.
Both men have been campaigning hard and were regular faces at the Bathurst early voting centre over the past fortnight.
In the pouring rain on Friday afternoon, Mr Riley stayed with outside pre-polling to hand out pamphlets to voters.
It was by no means an easy campaign, but he was happy for the experience and the response from the community.
"It's been good. I'm tired - working full-time and campaigning was very full on, especially with my job, but I'm very happy with how it all went," Mr Riley said.
"Regardless of the result, I think Bathurst will be in a better position."
He wanted to thank the Labor party for its support and all the people who have helped him campaign.
"I really appreciate it and I'm humbled that they chose me to run for Labor," he said.
Mr May has also found the campaign process challenging as he tried to run his farming business at the same time as promoting his policies by walking the streets, visiting farmers and businesses, and handing out fliers.
"Thanks to everyone for the support and welcoming me as a candidate," he said.
"It has been very rewarding, very time consuming, very tiring, but I want to thank everyone for embracing me."
Mr May said it was up to the polls now, but he was "quietly optimistic" of a positive result for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party on Saturday.
To find out more about the candidates, issues, and other state election news, visit the politics section of our website.
Otherwise, you can see some of our recent election stories below:
- Candidate forum highlights a surprising election issue in Bathurst
- NSW election: Bathurst's candidate forum was not addressed by Michael Begg
- A $900,000 Labor pledge for new fencing at Raglan Public School
- Get to know Sustainable Australia party's Bathurst candidates
- NSW election: Keep Sydney Open's Tim Hansen to fight for the arts
