DISCONTENT from the anti-coal movement on the Liverpool Plains did little to change results in the Tamworth electorate, where Nationals MP Kevin Anderson retained his seat with 54 per cent of first preference votes.
The incumbent member secured his second-year term with wins in 31 of the 34 polling places.
His rival, independent candidate and former member Peter Draper, had good support from the Liverpool Plains area, particularly at Werris Creek and received more than half of the area's first preference votes.
Mr Anderson's campaign, where he made numerous funding announcements and promised major upgrades for roads and infrastructure, included visits from Premier Mike Baird, Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson, and federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
Deputy Premier and NSW Nationals leader Troy Grant also spent plenty of time in the electorate, campaigning heavily for Mr Anderson and handing out how to vote cards during pre-polling.
Mr Anderson said the hard-fought campaign was won on "big picture" issues.
"It was our holistic approach to the Tamworth electorate issues, so health, education, law and order, transport, as well as the balance between mining and agriculture," he said.
Mr Hunt visited the Liverpool Plains in February to announce the Shenhua project would be referred to the Independent Expert Scientific Committee, effectively stopping the clock on the approval process.
Mr Anderson couldn't say whether the water trigger announcement by Mr Hunt helped him win more votes in the area.
"If you have a look at Shenhua's timeline for the project it was always going to land about now," he said.
"We knew we would have to deal with this."
