Despite spending millions, , and borrowing the word ‘Trump’ for branding, Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots (ToP) party has failed to win a single seat in the federal election.
As of Sunday, ToP has received nearly 225,000 primary votes for the House of Representatives, which is 1.46 per cent of the total.
In comparison, parties such as Legalise Cannabis Australia (LCA) received 1.14 per cent of the primary vote share with little to no campaigning.
It’s expected ToP will not secure any seats in the lower house.
Its hopes are set on a Senate spot, though that race is also tight. Queensland is its strongest prospect for a Senate spot, with ToP securing about a third of the required quota.
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) statistics on Sunday morning show that other parties, such as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation or LCA, are more likely to win a seat in the Senate.
Despite spending millions of dollars on its election campaign, Clive Palmer’s party has not secured a single seat in the lower house. Source: AAP / Danny Casey
The party, run by mining magnate Clive Palmer, had almost 100 candidates for the House of Representatives and was running for all states in the Senate.
Its key policies included establishing a Donald Trump-like Department of Government Efficiency, cutting immigration, removing Welcome to Country addresses and exiting the Paris Climate Agreement.
Millions of dollars on the campaign
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported in an interview with Palmer last week that he had spent $60 million on the election campaign.
Other media reports estimate this has included $5.6 million on television advertising and about $4.2 million on YouTube ads.
The numbers reported show ToP has spent more than any other party on YouTube ads, and it’s the second-highest spending party on traditional television advertisements.
Analyst Simon Welsh from polling firm RedBridge Group said that ToP did not receive anything in return for the millions the party spent.
“They’re a footnote. A very, very unpopular footnote that just annoyed a lot of people in this election,” he said.
The billionaire’s election spending is not new.
In the 2022 federal election, Palmer’s previous party, the United Australia Party, , according to the AEC’s annual disclosures for 2021-22.
Spam text messages
Another controversial and seemingly failed campaign method used by the ToP was its spam text messages.
The messages were authorised by party candidate Harold Fong and led to backlash and frustration among those who received them.
The messages did not include an option for the receiver to unsubscribe.
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