Sinn Féin candidate Órfhlaith Begley held the seat with a slightly reduced majority, compared to the June 2017 snap election.

As it coincided with the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre—where republicans murdered ten Protestant civilians—unionists accused him of mocking the massacre and the video was widely criticised, including by nationalists.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster said "mocking is depraved" and called the video "inhuman".

As Sinn Féin won a majority of the vote at the last election, a unity candidate would be unlikely to win without support across both the nationalist and unionist communities.

Potential candidates included Kevin Skelton and Sharon Gault, both of whom lost relatives in terrorist attacks during the Troubles.

[13][14] Ulster Unionist Party leader Robin Swann endorsed the proposal, calling for a "non-partisan candidate who will be a voice for victims to contest this seat against Sinn Féin".

[17] Former candidate and local MLA Daniel McCrossan released a statement in March condemning the fact that two months had passed from McElduff's resignation without a by-election date being fixed.

[28] Cannabis legalisation campaigner Barry Brown had initially announced his intention to contest the by-election as the Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance (CISTA) candidate, having previously stood in the 2015 and 2017 elections.

[20][29] Early in the campaign Sinn Féin candidate Órfhlaith Begley raised concerns at the proposed changes to the Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies that formed part of the sixth periodic boundary review.

"[30] Sinn Féin furthermore claimed that a campaign of voter suppression had been taking place, and urged local residents to confirm their eligibility to vote.

[31] In mid-April an SDLP party worker claimed to have been verbally abused and attacked whilst putting up election posters in the constituency.

According to the police report, the three men who assaulted the SDLP worker yelled sectarian abuse and threw his poster and ladder into the River Strule.