2016 Brun-South counsellor election in Greater western Tweldem

The 2016 Brun-South counsellor election in Greater western Tweldem was held on Thursday, April 21, 2016 and on Thursday, April 28, 2016, as part of the 2016 Bruns-South counsellor elections in which all 5 districts participated, electing 1 member each. Greater western Tweldem voters choose who will represent them in the Executive Council of Brun-South by the popular vote. The race was between Nationalist Party incumbent Ashton Byrne, endorsed by the NFP alliance, Liberal Democratic Union nominee Jack Marshall, endorsed by the UBP alliance and Labour Union nominee, endorsed by the PFJP alliance, Apples Clarke.

Background
Greater western Tweldem, normally a conservative stronghold due to gerrymandering, was very competitive in 2016. Incumbent Ashton Byrne was polling high as the election was coming closer, however, rallies held by Apples increased momentum and public opinion swung in his direction. Liberal Democratic Union nominee Jack Marshall wasn't given too much attention as the race was seen mainly between former infrastructure and rural affairs minister Apples and incumbent Ashton Byrne. He ended up winning a surprising near 20% of the vote in the first round.

Apples
The campaign of Apples was focused on attacking the incumbent governor supported by Byrne, who sacked him last year. Apples promised to fight for Greater western Tweldem by supporting and pushing for legislation to further workers' rights and a reintroduction of his failed land reform. His platform was mainly about change which he viewed necessary for Tweldem and Brun-South as a whole.

Byrne
Byrne's campaign was focused on defending against attacks and on government stability. His argument was that if Apples was elected he would try to break the system leading to unstable government. It's unknown if this rhetoric brought him any support because a large amount of people were growing dissatisfied with the governor.

Marshall
Jack Marshall advocated for moderation. He promised to back the governor but only if he changed his stance on some more controversial issues. This strategy didn't help him and alienated both the left and right leaving him with a small minority mostly filled with moderate conservatives and liberals.

First round
After the first round concluded Nationalist incumbent Byrne was leading by more than a percentage point over Apples. Most pollsters called the second round a likely Byrne victory, thinking that most of the voters who supported Jack Marshall will vote for the Nationalist nominee due to the close relationship between the UBP which backed Marshall and the NFP which backed Byrne.

Second round
The second round brought a surprise Apples victory. Most Marshall voters supported him even though it was expected otherwise.