Former Queensland Senator Barnaby Joyce has claimed victory for the Nationals in the NSW seat of New England.
"Seventy-six per cent of the two party-preferred (vote), I think he's reasonably safe there," veteran political reporter Laurie Oakes told the Nine Network.
A boisterous Mr Joyce thanked his staff and said "it was an incredibly humbling experience".
"This is not about me. This is about the people of New England and it's about making sure our nation gets to a better place," he told Nine.
He said voters had swung their support behind him as they "were genuinely concerned about where we were going with the debt".
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Mr Joyce resigned from the upper house to contest New England and told the Seven Network he had been worried about losing the contest.
"You don't know how relieved I am," he said.
"I had three kids at school. I resigned from a job and I didn't really have another job to go to. This was a big risk, but you do it because it's right."
The seat had been held by Independent MP Tony Windsor since 2001, who in a tearful press conference in June announced he would not be contesting the election.
At this poll, it was contested by a host of candidates, including Country Labor's Stephen Hewitt and independents Rob Taber and Jamie McIntyre.
Mr Windsor held the seat with a margin of 21.5 per cent.
