The Prime Minister returned to his home state to kick off Billy Gordon's run to wrest back the Far North Queensland seat of Leichhardt, which is currently held by the Coalition.
Mr Rudd and Mr Gordon were greeted like rockstars and mobbed by crowds of wellwishers as they walked around on the streets of Cairns.
Kevin Rudd promised $4.6million out of the Labor funds to beautify Cairns, and an upgrade to the Bruce Highway.
The Prime Minister enjoys a heightened level of popularity in his home state and this appears to have translated nationally, with the latest polls indicating parity between the two major parties.
Despite the buzz on the streets, Leichhardt will not necessarily be an easy swing victory for the Labor Party.
The current incumbent, Liberal National Party MP Warren Entsch has held the seat since 1996, with a one-term break in 2007. The last federal election also saw an eight per cent swing against Labor.
"What I've been telling a lot of the campaigners and the supporters up here is that we've still got a mountain to climb I'm still the underdog, we've got a tough fight ahead for Leichhardt," said Mr Gordon.
It's the first time an Indigenous person has been preselected for the Lower House by Labor, and the selection has been a controversial one.
The other proposed candidate, Pastor Norman Miller, was also Indigenous.
The Prime Minister however says Billy Gordon is a strong candidate.
"This fella has been born and bred in far north Queensland. On top of that, he's been an army reservist, on top of that he's got a passion for this community," said Mr Rudd.
Mr Gordon has been campaigning on better roads and facilities to attract tourism revenue in the area, while Mr Entsch has been campaigning for more support in PNG for patients with tuberculosis.
