[1] Judith Collins was elected leader of the New Zealand National Party on 14 July 2020 following the sudden resignation of Todd Muller for health reasons.

Instead, the ACT party made significant gains and leader David Seymour overtook Collins in preferred prime minister polling.

[3] This led to frequent media speculation that a leadership contest was imminent, with former leader Simon Bridges and first-term MP Christopher Luxon seen as the most likely candidates.

[6] Late at night on 24 November 2021, Collins suddenly demoted Bridges and stripped him of his portfolios over a complaint about alleged comments he made to fellow National MP Jacqui Dean in 2017.

[11] Several National MPs openly discussed running or were speculated by the media as potential candidates but eventually did not contest the leadership.