The traditional Labour-held seats are changing in demographics as new housing projects pop up in Te Atatu, Waitakere and New Lynn.
National MP and Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett surprised some by taking the long-held Waitakere seat at the last election with a slim majority.
Labour finance spokesman David Cunliffe holds New Lynn by what should be a substantial margin of more than 4000 votes.
Long-serving Te Atatu MP Chris Carter was thrown out of the Labour Party for a clumsy attempt at unseating his leader, Phil Goff, giving National some hope of taking that seat.
Ms Bennett, who drives a leopard-skin-painted car, has "Paula is proud to be a Westie" plastered over her election hoardings, which also feature Prime Minister John Key.
Trade Minister Tim Groser is facing off against Mr Cunliffe for the second time. In 2008, Labour won 40.3% of the party vote and National won 40.1%. Mr Cunliffe has been hampered by being out of the electorate campaigning for Labour around the country but his supporters still expect him to win well on Saturday.
At Swanson, near the centre of the Waitakere electorate, Taking the Pulse shared morning tea with Christine Good and Andrea Frost, both National Party supporters. They live in the west but say jokingly they are nothing like Cheryl West, the fictional character played by Robyn Malcolm in Outrageous Fortune.
Both women are married and live in the bush to the northwest of Swanson. They believe that having Mr Key holding nearby Helensville with such a large majority is helping Ms Bennett in her quest to hold off Labour's Carmel Sepuloni. The unknown factor for Labour is Mana Party candidate and former Green Party MP Sue Bradford, who was yesterday campaigning in Rotorua.
Swanson looks like a destination area for Auckland residents wanting a break in the country. It has two cafes, a food market, a railway station, two real estate firms, a medical centre and a substantial pharmacy. Five minutes back towards Auckland, you pass back through state housing areas.
Except for the change in election signs, it is hard to judge where Waitakere ends and Te Atatu starts. The Pulse was one minute driving through run-down housing areas in Waitakere only to find, around the corner, a new gated housing development in Te Atatu.
The TomTom GPS unit being used by the Pulse put the centre of the Waitakere electorate on a paddock-lined road 100m past Waitakere Primary School and, conveniently, right beside a hoarding of Ms Bennett and Mr Key. The Waitakere village centre reminded the Pulse of Brighton. It has a kindergarten, an RSA club and a superette.
Bill Kahui was out walking when the Pulse stopped. He is retired but keeps active mowing a few lawns in the district. He had always voted Labour until 2008 but he changed to Ms Bennett - not National, just Ms Bennett. He will be voting for her again but will probably vote Labour and definitely MMP. Different people had been moving into the electorate, Mr Kahui said, pointing up the road. Houses had been changing hands and he did not think the new owners were permanent residents. Behind the bush-lined roads, expensive homes and grounds could be seen.
National list MP Tau Henare, "The West Side Tory", feels he is in with a chance in Te Atatu this time. He is well known in the electorate.
Labour list MP Phil Twyford has a bit of work to do to hold the seat for Labour because, as in New Lynn and Waitakere, the demographics are changing as more central Aucklanders move out west.
Mr Henare is ideal for Te Atatu. He mixes it up in Parliament with Labour bad boy Trevor Mallard and does not seem to care if he upsets his boss.
Since 2003, he has reduced the Labour majority of 11,000 to 4000 votes in 2008 and could feel his time has come in 2011.
Jobs and transport appear to be the big issues in the electorate.
Te Atatu has reportedly felt the pinch of the economic downturn because its younger-than-average workforce is over-represented in retail, construction and trades.
National is putting a lot of time, money and people into trying to win electorates from Labour.
Even though the party vote is the one that determines how many MPs each party has, the real arm wrestle is in the electorates.