Labor claims Corangamite victory

LABOR MP Darren Cheeseman is claiming victory in the Victorian marginal seat of Corangamite but his high-profile opponent Sarah Henderson is not yet conceding defeat.

Mr Cheeseman is hanging on to a 742 vote lead and says with just another 700 to 800 votes left to be counted in the seat which has Geelong at its centre, he is claiming victory.

It will be the first time in the 109 year history of the seat that a Labor candidate has won it in two consecutive elections.

"We believe our lead is too great for the Liberal Party to pull back in so we are absolutely in a position to claim that we have been able to win the seat," Mr Cheeseman told AAP.

"It is a very significant for the party nationally, keeping us in a position where we can do a deal with the independents to form a minority government."

He said the nature of the seat was very similar to those of the three independents who are pressuring both major parties who want to form government to get the best deals for their electorates.

"I think we have a very strong suite of policies that we took to the election, like the National Broadband Network and health and hospital reform which is terrific for Corangamite and fantastic for the independent seats as well," he said.

Ms Henderson, a former ABC current affairs presenter and corporate lawyer, said in a statement that it was still mathematically possible for her to win the seat.

"While it appears that Mr Cheeseman will hold the seat, the outcome will not be known until the last couple of thousand votes are counted," she said.

"We closed the gap again on Monday and it is still mathematically possible for the Liberal Party to win Corangamite."

She said there had been a small swing to the Liberals with a strong primary vote of 45 per cent compared with Labor's 39.5 per cent.

There was no counting in the seat on Wednesday.