ACT Senate race: can independents chase down Liberal incumbent?

Former rugby union star David Pocock and academic Kim Rubenstein hope marginal status will bring Canberra and surrounds more funding

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Read our latest election briefing and listen to today's campaign catchup podcast
• Election 2022 seat explorer; Pork-o-meter election promises tracker
• Guardian Australia's full federal election coverage
• Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing

Canberra is one of the most progressive cities in the country. ACT residents are more likely to be highly educated, less religious and better paid than the average Australian, making it an outlier in federal politics.

But for the last 50 years, the two Senate spots in the Australian Capital Territory have been held exclusively by the Liberal and Labor parties. Now in 2022, two high-profile independents are vying to replace the Liberal incumbent, Zed Seselja.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning