McBride won Australian Labor Party preselection for The Entrance in the 1991 state election, losing to Liberal incumbent Bob Graham by 116 votes.

[1] However, due to the late completion of the 1991 redistribution, hundreds of voters received absentee ballots for Gosford.

[3] As Minister for Gaming and Racing, in 2005, he proposed a ban on Dutch beer Shag, claiming its name was offensive to Australians.

[4] McBride held both Ministerial positions until a controversy arose during 2006, when he was accused of wasting $50,000 on an overseas trip in November 2005.

[6][7] McBride was a qualified engineer who worked as an electorate officer to former prime minister, Gough Whitlam.