Colin Craig is, by his own admission, set to fight a losing battle for the East Coast Bays seat in this year's election, but believes it is possible National will help him secure an electorate, Radio New Zealand reports.
The Conservative Party leader announced on Sunday he was going to run in the Auckland electorate held for National by Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully since 1987.
Craig has admitted he does not expect to beat McCully, but is running in the electorate to bring in more votes for the Conservative Party.
While he has ruled out what he calls a cup of tea deal with the National Party, he told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme he believed there was still a possibility that the party would help him.