HENRY Pike was flanked by wife Kate as he claimed victory in front of his party faithful at Raby Bay on Saturday night, ending months of campaigning across the Redlands.
Mr Pike won about 55 per cent of the two-party preferred vote and about 42 per cent of the primary to take the Bowman seat previously held by Andrew Laming.
It comes less than two years after he ran unsuccessfully for the seat of Redlands at the 2020 state government election, where he captured 38 per cent of the two-party vote against Kim Richards.
There was strong support for the LNP in Bowman during pre-polling and at the major voting centres, with Pike winning almost 50 per cent of the primary vote at Cleveland Baptist Church.
Australian Electoral Commission data suggests pre-polling was popular in Bowman, with almost 40,000 people in the electorate casting their vote on or before Thursday, May 19.
Mr Pike, speaking to his supporters after claiming victory on Saturday night, said it was a bitter-sweet moment.
"It is clear that Labor will form government after this," he said.
"We have been focused very much in our own corner of the country, and all we can really do is ask that we win our seat.
"A rugby coach once said to me, 'if you want to win, you've got to want it more', and I think we wanted it more."
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