The current MP for East Coast is Dana Kirkpatrick of the National Party, who has held office since 2023.

Wairoa, the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, was excluded by the 2007 boundary changes.

[3] William Kelly was the first elected representative; he held the seat until the end of the term in 1875.

[4] The "most sensational electoral contest ever held in the East Coast" electorate was held in January 1876, when mysterious pieces of cardboard were distributed by supporters of George Read in Gisborne, which hotel bars accepted as legal tender.

Read, George Morris and Kelly received 215, 206 and 185 votes, with another candidate coming a distant fourth.

[7] At the next election in 1879, Morris was defeated by Allan McDonald, who held the electorate until he resigned in 1884.

[8] Samuel Locke won the resulting by-election and was confirmed a few months later at the 1884 general election.

[9] William Lee Rees stood unsuccessfully in this and subsequent by-elections and elections.

When the electorate was abolished the then current MP, William Kelly contested and won the new seat of Bay of Plenty.

Key Independent   Liberal   Labour   National   United Future   Green 1 See History section above.

Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.

Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.

Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.