PAUL Toole was surrounded by his family, friends and staff as the votes rolled in on Saturday night, delivering him his third consecutive term as the member for Bathurst.
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Late on Sunday, the Nationals' candidate had received 56 per cent of the first preference votes and around 67 per cent on two-candidate preferred.
As counting continued on Sunday, it appeared likely Mr Toole would slightly increase his margin, defying a statewide swing against the Nationals.
Gladys Berejiklian has been returned as premier, making her the first woman to lead a party to victory in the state's long history.
Paul Toole thanks his supporters on election night
Mr Toole said he was amazed to see the level of support he got from the electorate. "It's an amazing result," he said.
"This is not just me alone, this is my team, this is my staff," he said.
"And this is the government that have been making sure that people living here in the country and the people living here in the Bathurst electorate have been receiving the record investment that we have seen over the past four years."
The emergence of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party saw the Nationals, Labor and Greens all suffer a loss of primary votes compared to four years ago.
The SFF's Brenden May had 14.24 per cent of first preference votes late on Sunday while Mr Toole's primary vote had fallen from almost 60 per cent to 56, Labor (Beau Riley) fell from 27 per cent to 21 and The Greens (David Harvey) from nine per cent to five per cent.
Mr Riley refused to answer questions about the result, saying only that he was "very thankful to everyone that helped me".
"I thought we ran a very good campaign. Thank you to all the helpers and volunteers," he said.
Mr Toole said he was looking forward to continuing to deliver on the government's project commitments.
He said eliminating mobile black spots, improving road infrastructure and improving water security were among the priorities.
"We need to make sure we have a plan for water security for a lot of our towns and communities right across NSW," he said.
"Especially with drought, I think it only highlights the importance of making sure that is the number one issue to be addressed."
During its election campaign, the Coalition promised to design and construct a 31-kilometre duplication of the Great Western Highway in the next term.
The $2.5 billion project would see the highway duplicated all the way from Lithgow to Katoomba by 2028.
The Nationals had also promised to introduce the Regional Seniors Transport Card if elected, which will provide senior citizens in regional and rural areas with $250 annually to spend on all modes of transport.
Mr Toole said it is hoped that this program can be rolled out in early 2020.
"This is about making sure we reduced transport costs when it comes to the cost of living," he said.
Bathurst can also look forward to an additional daily Bathurst Bullet service, which will commence early next year.
In addition to thanking his staff, Mr Toole thanked his family for their support throughout, not only the campaign, but his time in office.
"You can't do this on your own. You have to have the support of your wife and your family, not only my wife and my kids, but my extended family," he said.
"They are critical. If you don't have that support, you can't do this job."
