Waterford identified as key electoral constituency

Political experts at The Sunday Times have picked Waterford as one of the two key constituencies in the upcoming General Election.

"This constituency could be classed as a microcosm of Ireland," wrote Hugh O'Connell, the Political Editor at The Sunday Times.

Alongside Dublin Bay North, Waterford was identified as a constituency which would act as an electoral barometer of the nation. Due to the intensity of local issues in the area which have national resonance, the election results in Waterford could speak to the national outlook of Irish voters.

“The dominant narrative is that Waterford is terrible and someone should do something about it,” one politician said to O'Connell, who argued that the candidates Waterford voters choose to fix those problems could say a lot about the national results.

The Electoral Trends

The Sunday Times identified Deputy David Cullinane's strong performance last time out and the potential for a second Sinn Féin candidate to get elected through his vote share as an indicator of the feeling that Waterford has been left behind, which may lead to higher election results for the party in Waterford compared to their national vote share.

The performance of Marc Ó Cathasaigh could act as evidence of a "Green malaise" among voters, O'Connell posited, while questioning if Minister Butler could suffer at the hands of Independent TD Deputy Matt Shanahan.