Early projections already suggest the South Australian election is set for a Labor landslide less than an hour after polls closed across the state.
Polls closed across the state at 6pm, and early indications point to a brutal red‑wave result, with Labor on track to secure a commanding victory and the Liberals facing what could become one of the worst defeats in their history.
South Australia saw its biggest election wipeout in 1993 when residents delivered a blunt verdict at the ballot box, ousting Labor after 11 years as soaring state debt and rising unemployment fuelled a sweeping election wipe‑out that left the party with just 10 lower‑house seats
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Pre‑election polling suggested the party risked being wiped from metropolitan Adelaide entirely — a scenario that would cement the Liberals as holding one of the bleakest electoral records in the country, second only to their ACT counterparts.
However, the eyes will be on One Nation to see if there’s truth to its recent popular polling.
7NEWS election analyst Hugh Whitfeld expects the election to be a red seat “powerball” wipe out, already projecting Labor will win at least eight seats.
Premier Peter Malinauskas’ seat Croydon and Port Adelaide are safe in the bag with the former holding a 24.8 per cent margin.
“He will almost certainly, we believe, project that he will hold that for the ALP,” Whitfeld said.
West Torrens, which is held by Tom Koutsantonis who is chasing an eighth term in parliament, also has a big majority.
“Twenty-four is the magic number that these parties need to reach. The ALP already well on their way,” Whitfeld said.
However, all eyes will be on key regional seats where One Nation voters may challenge long-held Liberal seats.
“The One Nation story is the big story tonight,” he said,
“There may be a big number of seats where One Nation manages to leapfrog the Liberals into second place.”
Malinauskas entered election day under intense pressure, weathering one of the most politically damaging weeks of his leadership.
He was forced to defend his government across three heated media conferences, each dominated by questions over a bungled email saga that erupted last Friday.
The controversy — involving an email that appeared to discredit the widow of a cancer victim — overshadowed the final stretch of the campaign and became the defining issue of the week.
But despite the turbulence, Labor’s vote appears to have held firm. The Liberals, already struggling to regain relevance after years of internal instability and poor polling, now look set to suffer a historic collapse as counting begins.
Full results will unfold through the night, but the early narrative is clear: South Australia is bracing for a decisive Labor win — and a potentially devastating Liberal loss.
7NEWS Adelaide will be covering the election results live from 6.30pm. Watch on live 7plus.
