One Nation national director James Ashby says he is considering running for the federal seat of Capricornia at the next election, after sitting MP Michelle Landry announced she will retire from politics.
Ashby told the ABC that business and community members had approached him in recent months and urged him to contest the central Queensland seat. He said he would consider their requests but had not made a final decision. One Nation’s Capricornia branch will ultimately decide who represents the party.
Ashby is a close ally of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and has served as her chief of staff. He lives on the Capricorn Coast and unsuccessfully contested the Queensland state seat of Keppel at the 2024 state election.
Landry, who has represented Capricornia since 2013, announced on Friday, 23 October, that she would not contest the next federal election, expected in 2028. Her retirement creates an opening for Nationals leader Matt Canavan to seek Liberal National Party preselection for the seat. Canavan has not confirmed whether he will nominate, saying the party will announce its decision in due course.
The contest is taking shape as One Nation’s support has increased in national polling. The latest Newspoll reported by the ABC on Thursday put One Nation’s primary vote at 28 per cent, compared with Labor on 29 per cent and the Coalition on 20 per cent. These figures are a national polling snapshot and do not determine the outcome in Capricornia.
At the 2025 federal election, One Nation received 15.5 per cent of the primary vote in Capricornia, while Landry retained the seat for the Liberal National Party. Hanson said earlier this year that One Nation was looking at opening an electorate office in Yeppoon as the party sought to build its regional presence.
Capricornia covers a large area of central Queensland, including Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast. The party’s local branch will have the final say on its candidate, while the LNP must also decide whether Canavan will seek preselection to move from the Senate to the House of Representatives.
