Mr Key was in Dunedin the day after Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics was released and the visit was dominated by questions about the links between his office, right-wing bloggers and former justice minister Judith Collins.
Yesterday, he was answering questions about spying.
National Party campaign manager Steven Joyce, who accompanied Mr Key on his visit to the city, said he tended to plan the campaign visits months out but did not say too much about where those visits would be.
''The Dunedin visit had moved around a bit, for various reasons.''
The Ashburton shooting tragedy of Work and Income staff had changed things, he said.
But the visit by Mr Key, again after a major announcement by the Left, was coincidental.
''This is my fourth campaign and it is important to have a good plan. If you need to move things around, it is important to move with a plan.''
Asked how the attacks on Mr Key and National on Monday night from Kim Dotcom, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden and Julian Assange had affected the campaign, Mr Joyce said National had been aware of what was coming.
''We deal with the issues that are raised. This campaign has been dominated by `gotcha moments' from the Left, but I don't think any have worked.
''People say they are sick of the circus and I think we saw the peak of the circus on Monday night. Voters say they would happily see Dotcom bugger off to leave them to make their own decisions on voting.''
Mr Joyce's croaky voice belied his energy during the interview, although he did make a concession of drinking a long black coffee because the milk in a cappuccino interfered with his voice.
This campaign, he had been out on the campaign trail more than other years because he wanted to get a better feel for the questions people were asking.
Mr Key had also adopted a line of ''ask me anything'' at campaign stops around the country.
The growing use of technology meant National taking a different view of how it got its message out, Mr Joyce said.
''A lot of people are bemused for what passes for news so we rely on our paid advertisements, electronic post a lot of stuff to people who are listening and social media.''
The focus in the last few days before Saturday's election would be on maximising the party vote, he said.
''You saw that in the Otago Daily Times this morning and you will see it on TV ads. This is a clear and direct message for supporters to not split their vote. Don't give the minor parties your vote, let them sort themselves out.''
Today, Mr Joyce is in Wellington helping Mr Key with preparations for the last leader's debate before heading back to Auckland for the last two days of the campaign.
