Humiliation for Zoe Daniel as Tim Wilson makes history to reclaim seat of Goldstein – after the Teal independent celebrated victory with a dance party

Tim Wilson will be reinstated as a federal MP after a historic win against the woman who declared victory against him on election night with a dance party.

He has reclaimed the seat of Goldstein by a slim 124 votes over independent Teal Zoe Daniel, the woman who ousted him from the inner south-eastern three years ago.

At the start of the final count today, Wilson led by 176 votes with 117 votes to be counted.

Daniel was unable to close the gap before the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed Wilson had won.

Wilson thanked his team on Tuesday night in an WhatsApp message following his ‘unprecedented’ victory.

‘Together we just broke three Australian political records,’ he wrote.

‘First team to retake the same seat lost to an Independent MP – ever!

‘First team to defeat a Teal Independent MP – ever!

‘⁠First Liberal team in 110+ years to win a seat off an Independent MP elected a general election (and it has only been done once before – 1913 in Gippsland).’

Daniel is yet to concede defeat.

The AEC will automatically carry out a recount if there are 100 votes or less separating the two rivals.

Candidates can also request a recount if the difference in votes is above that threshold.  

It comes after she lapped up the adulation of her adoring supporters as she declared victory on election night a fortnight ago.

‘Titanium’ by David Guetta blasted out as the crowd whooped and cheered while she walked to the stage.

When she got there she threw both hands in the air, declaring that ‘hope wins’.

‘I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose,’ the lyrics rang out as Daniel danced like woman possessed.

She thanked her supporters, adding: ‘What we have achieved here is extraordinary.’

But within hours, as the vote count continued, it became clear that Daniel’s seat was still on a knife edge. 

Two days later, even after she had walked back her victory claims, Daniel was still in the dancing mood.

The Teal MP shared a video of her all-female office dancing wildly to Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club.

‘It’s a resilience test that’s for sure,’ she captioned the video. ‘But no matter what, we will keep dancing.

Wilson claimed victory on May 7 after several media outlets declared Goldstein in his favour.

He later considered putting himself forward for Liberal leadership before subsequently ruling himself out. 

Daniel, 52, is a former longtime ABC foreign correspondent turned politician who campaigned on fighting climate change and addressing integrity issues in politics. 

She was elected among a wave of so-called Teal independents in 2022, defeating Wilson 52.87 per cent to 47.13 per cent. 

Wilson, 45, is a former assistant minister in Scott Morrison’s government as the member for Goldstein from 2016 to 2022. 

He is a former Human Rights Commissioner and before that had a senior position at the right-wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs.