Federal Liberal candidate Andrew Constance said if he doesn't win Gilmore, he will "detox from politics".
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"But if I do win, I'm going to get on with the job," he said after casting his vote at Sanctuary Point on Saturday.
The former NSW Transport Minister reiterated that his campaign had been focused on the south coast community after enduring a challenging two years, and that he would work alongside the Coalition if elected into the hotly-contested seat.
"Our community has been through enough," Mr Constance said.
"Ideologically, I'm a progressive Liberal but I do want to see politics change in Australia.
"We've wasted enough energy on the wrong arguments ... and my intention is to bring people together.
"We saw this through the Black Summer (bushfires) and people were unified in survival and recovery. I think our nation could learn from a region like Gilmore that when you work together you can achieve so much."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Gilmore twice during the election campaign, and the pair addressed the Black Summer bushfire rift that shot Mr Constance to national prominence.
Last month, Mr Constance said he wouldn't be a "wallflower" if elected to federal parliament.
His campaign has focused primarily on funding damaged roads, new infrastructure projects including the Nowra bypass, and boosting local jobs. He said it was positive Labor had matched many of the Coalition's commitments.
"What's pleasing is every announcement I made was matched by my Labor opponent, so that gives a community certainty around a number of key projects," Mr Constance said.
"The state of the roads are a mess. So we made roads important for this election campaign, because they've got to be rebuilt and the council can't go it alone."
Both major parties promised $40 million to repair the Shoalhaven's damaged road network.
Meantime, United Australia Party's Jordan Maloney was greeting voters among the sea of corflutes at the Nowra Uniting Church polling booth.
He said he wants to see as many Independents voted in as possible.
"We want to see a change in government overreach ... we just want to see the power be brought back to the people."