The National party has selected Barbara Kuriger as its Taranaki-King Country candidate for the upcoming general election.
The incumbent has held the seat for almost a decade, since being elected in 2013.
This month news spread of a challenger from within the National party, a teacher from Te Awamutu by the name of Brian Winter.
Barbara posted on Facebook last week to announce her candidacy with a straight-to-the-point one-liner: “Thank you Taranaki King Country! Proud to be your candidate again in 2023!”
The announcement was met with a couple of dozen comments of congratulations, including some more extended compliments.
“You are a hard-working advocate for rural communities and rural women. I wish you all the best,” one read.
“Awesome, I was starting to worry that the so-called farmers party wasn’t going to have any farmers in it, and we would indeed be governed from Wellington just like what’s happening now for the most part,” said another.
Opinion was more split on the King Country News Facebook page, with one person saying that the National party no longer had the support it once had in the King Country and another calling for a new local face.
