National in a press release, announced the timeline for candidate nomination submissions, starting from 29 March and ending 13 April.

[13] Tauranga Business Chamber CEO and former City Councillor Matt Cowley announced on 13 April that he would seek the National Party's nomination for the election.

[14] On 29 April, the top four National candidates were announced as Clout, Cowley, Sam Uffindell, and Tom Rutherford.

[16] Minister of Internal Affairs and Women Jan Tinetti, who contested the electorate at the 2017 and 2020 elections, put her name forward for the Labour candidacy.

[18] Former Deputy Prime Minister, Tauranga MP and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been speculated to run for the seat.

[21] Cameron Luxton, the previous ACT candidate for the electorate intends to put his name forward for the election.

[22][24] Former National MP Matt King stated that his newly formed DemocracyNZ party would not be ready in time to contest the election.

[26] Former Tauranga City Councillor and 2019 mayoral candidate Andrew Hollis will run for the unregistered New Nation Party.

[27] The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party announced on 31 March that their candidate would be Christopher Coker, who previously contested the Bay of Plenty electorate.

[28] The Māori Party announced on 13 May that they would not contest the election for safety reasons, citing claims of threats made by residents.