Election 2014 was a night to forget for the minor parties as the National juggernaut left the Conservative Party, the Greens, New Zealand First, Internet-Mana, the Maori Party and Act reeling last night.
The Green Party, New Zealand First and Internet-Mana all hoped before polling day they had the goods to be part of a viable government.
The Maori Party, the Conservatives and Act had also hoped to provide more than just a handful of MPs into a coalition with a returning National.
But the writing was on the wall for the minor parties just an hour after provisional voting results started to be released last night.
One of the highest-profile victims was Conservative leader Colin Craig, who will have to wait another three years to try again to enter the hallowed halls of Parliament.
Despite his pouring $2.8 million into his party since 2012, the Conservatives failed to secure the required 5 per cent of the party vote to enter Parliament last night.
Craig arrived at the North Shore Golf Club party HQ with his wife Helen and was greeted with loud applause. He put on a brave face to his party's latest failure, saying the party had grown its vote from 2011.
"We were in fifth place last time and it looks like it will be the same this time. That is the system and you have to live with that. That is the system and I don't like it much. But we are three years old, so that's solid."
He added: "The biggest problem is National has done so well, and we share a voter base with National."
Until Wednesday night it appeared Craig and up to five of his candidates might break into Parliament, where his party would have entered into a coalition with the National Party. But late-campaign bombshells - including the defection of his high-profile media adviser Rachel MacGregor - saw the party stumble at the last hurdle.
Retired Hamilton multimillionaire Laurence Day, who with his wife, Katrina, gave $675,000 to the party's campaign, was at the Conservative base last night.
Asked before the release of polling if cash injection contribution would be wasted if the Conservatives fell short of the 5 per cent mark, he said: "I put that money aside for a cause that I really believe in ... We're giving it a shot ... We've certainly put ourselves seriously on the political map, and going forward people will take us a lot more seriously."
The Conservative's 2014 campaign was a dramatic rollercoaster ride.
The movement was repeatedly hamstrung whenever it made positive advances in the polls with a series of campaign clangers.
The most notable was just two days out from election day when MacGregor suddenly quit.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters will again be in Parliament in the 2014-17 term, but not on the terms he had hoped for.
The would-be "king-maker" will instead have to make do with another three years on the opposition side of the benches.
Peters hinted throughout the election campaign he would play hardball with Labour or National if they required his support to form a government. On the basis of last night's result, that was wishful thinking.
Last night he sounded a further warning that New Zealand was not enjoying a "rock-star economy".
The Green Party Co-leaders Russel Norman and Metiria Turei made it clear throughout the campaign they hoped to gain at least 15 per cent of the party vote.
But last night their party vote dropped on their 2011 showing, along with that of would-be Government coalition partner Labour.
Not even star power at the election night function in Auckland, including Lucy Lawless, Anika Moa, Julia Deans and Keisha Castle-Hughes, could lighten the mood of a gloomy showing.
Lawless said of the campaign: "The whole experience has been absorbing and every day it has been one punch after another. It has been very dramatic, and being an actress, I like that."
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell spoke days out of the election of his hope that his party would win all seven Maori electorates.
But last night the party secured just one electorate, Flavell successfully holding on to his Waiariki seat. It was unable to hold on to the Tamaki Makaurau and Te Tai Hauauru seats held by their now former co-leaders Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia. But they should pick up an additional list MP.
Act Will return to Parliament with one MP, David Seymour securing Epsom thanks to his backing from National Party hierarchy and supporters.They had hoped leader Jamie Whyte would gain a spot via a positive party list showing. That never eventuated.
