Labor candidate who turned 21 on election night likely to become senatorBy Thomas KelsallTopic:Elections1h ago1 hours agoSun 4 May 2025 at 5:08amSA Senate candidate Charlotte Walker, pictured with Hindmarsh MP Mark Butler, turned 21 on Saturday and is in pole position to win a seat. (Supplied: Instagram)In short: A Labor candidate who turned 21 on election night is in pole position to become a South Australian senator in an unexpected result. Charlotte Walker was preselected in the usually unwinnable third spot on Labor's SA Senate ticket, but a strong swing to the government has brought her into contention. SA senator Don Farrell says Ms Walker is “very young and very, very lucky”. abc.net.au/news/21-year-old-labor-candidate-federal-election/105250034Link copiedShareShare articleA South Australian candidate who turned 21 on election night is on track to become a senator, riding the tide of a larger-than-expected swing to Labor.Charlotte Walker, who was preselected for the usually unwinnable third spot on Labor's SA Senate ticket, is likely to snag the state's sixth and final upper house seat, the ABC projects.Ms Walker, affiliated with Labor's left faction, turned 21 on Saturday and is currently Young Labor president in SA.Charlotte Walker (right) with state Labor MP Mira El Dannawi. (Supplied: Instagram)The third spot on the SA Senate ticket is typically unwinnable territory for Labor — the party has not had three senators elected by the state since 2004.SA senator Don Farrell said Ms Walker was "very young and very, very lucky"."She will come in as a very new and young member of the Senate," he said."But we've got plenty of people up there in Canberra who will give her all of the advice she needs so that she'll make a very very valuable contribution to the Australian political process."SA senators Don Farrell and Marielle Smith (right) speaking to the media alongside Premier Peter Malinauskas and new Labor MP for Sturt Claire Clutterham (left). (ABC News)SA senator and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia's parliament was "best when it represents all of Australia, including our young people"."Charlotte is an intelligent and principled woman who would add to the diversity of the Senate," she said.Sitting Labor senators Marielle Smith and Karen Grogan were comfortably re-elected on Saturday after being preselected first and second on the Labor ticket.Liberal Party senator Alex Antic and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young were also re-elected, while Coalition frontbencher Anne Ruston is also likely to return to Canberra.But the Albanese government's strong performance in SA has put Ms Walker in pole position for the sixth and final spot ahead of One Nation and the Liberal Party.With 41.4 per cent of Senate ballots counted, Labor has received 37.3 per cent of the primary vote — a five per cent swing and enough for a quota of 2.61."Labor is looking very good in South Australia … and every senator that we pick up means it's one less vote we need to get in a rather fractious Senate," Mr Farrell said.The Liberal Party's Senate vote has dropped significantly to 25.6 per cent — a swing against of 8.3 per cent.The result will likely cost long-serving Liberal senator David Fawcett his place in parliament.Mr Fawcett, who was first elected senator in 2010, was third on the Liberal Party ticket behind Mr Antic and Ms Ruston.One Nation lead Senate candidate Jennifer Game looks unlikely to win the sixth Senate seat despite a 1.37 per cent swing and a quota of 0.38.Labor revels in 'historic' Sturt victoryMeanwhile, the Labor Party is celebrating winning the inner-eastern suburbs seat of Sturt for the first time in more than 50 years.Labor candidate Claire Clutterham defeated Liberal MP James Stevens to become the first Labor MP to represent the seat since Norm Foster in 1972."It is a huge honour and privilege for me to have that opportunity to represent the people of Sturt," Ms Clutterham said, describing the win as "historic".Ms Clutterham said one of her first priorities would be to deliver an urgent care clinic in Adelaide's eastern suburbs — a Labor election promise."That was something the electorate was crying out for, so that is a huge priority for us [in] the first early stages of government," she said.Premier Peter Malinauskas said the state government would continue to partner with the federal government, adding that getting "the job completed in Whyalla" was at "the top of the list".Premier Peter Malinauskas celebrating Labor candidate Claire Clutterham's victory in Sturt.In February, the federal and state governments announced a $2.4 billion rescue package for the Whyalla steelworks after the struggling industrial plant was tipped into administration."We would not be in the position we are with sovereign steelmaking in this country without the combined effort of the federal government and the state government," Mr Malinauskas said.The premier said public school funding and completing the final stage of the North-South Corridor were also on his list of state-federal priorities.Posted 1h ago1 hours agoSun 4 May 2025 at 5:08am, updated 49m ago49 minutes agoSun 4 May 2025 at 5:34amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesLabor victory a 'win for the ages'Topic:ElectionsPhoto shows Smiling Albanese with a coffee at a table with trees behindLiberals begin dissection after ruinous lossTopic:Federal GovernmentPhoto shows Liberal Party launch in SydneyLabor set for easier Senate as Pocock, Lambie risk being sidelinedTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows David Pocock sits behind Jacqui Lambie while she speaks in the senate'Tough results' for Greens, as leader Adam Bandt fights close contest for his seatTopic:Australian GreensPhoto shows Adam Bandt faces several microphones while holding a giant novelty red toothbrush.Victorians say Trump, nuclear power and NDIS swayed their votesTopic:VotingPhoto shows A woman holds a young boy with light red hair and looks at a man 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