CONTROVERSIAL former Minister Jamie Briggs has lost the blue ribbon Liberal seat of   Mayo to newcomer Nick Xenophon candidate Rebekha Sharkie.
Mr Briggs conceded defeat last night with Ms Sharkie leading the two-party preferred vote 56-44 and more than half the vote counted.
"After a tough fight, tonight hasn't been our night. Thanks to those who supported me and my best to the new member, its (sic) a great electorate," he said on Twitter at 8.28pm. 
Earlier in the day, Mr Briggs was confronted at a polling booth and his election flyers spat on as the swing against him in his seat of   Mayo turned nasty.
Ms Sharkie was riding the wave of discontent with Mr Briggs in the battleground seat, stretch-ing from the Adelaide Hills into the state's south.
Only an hour after votes began coming through, Victorian Liberal powerbroker and Sky News commentator Michael Kroger conceded the party had lost the seat.
"I'm in shock. I owe immense gratitude to the people of   Mayo for taking a chance on me," Ms Sharkie said. "You have to dream big. I dreamed big and I worked very hard." Adding insult to injury, former state Liberal leader turned SA Labor Cabinet member Martin Hamilton-Smith handed out how-to-vote cards for Ms Sharkie at the Stirling polling booth where Mr Briggs cast his vote yesterday.
Ms Sharkie, a former staffer for her rival Mr Briggs, also worked in Mr Hamilton-Smith's office when he was opposition leader in 2008-09.
Mr Briggs managed to avoid an awkward run in with Mr Hamilton-Smith, receiving a mostly warm welcome at the St Catherine's School booth.
"Very good mate, very positive," Mr Briggs said when quizzed about his chances for re-election before lunch time.
But as he lined up to buy a sausage sandwich, the mood soured when voter Caroline Fines barged past the media pack to ask: "Do you regret sending that photo of that lady to everybody? Do you wish you didn't do it? So that's where women are rated in your stratosphere is it?" Mr Briggs chose to ignore the questions, which referred to a boozy Hong Kong incident involving a female public servant, over which he resigned as a minister.
It was that now infamous Hong Kong night that set off Mr Briggs' fall from grace.
He was considered a rising star after former prime minister John Howard took a shine to the assertive young adviser who worked in his office, along with wife Estee, between 2004 and 2007.
After the retirement of former foreign minister Alexander Downer in 2008, Mr Briggs beat nine by-election candidates to claim the blue-ribbon seat. Since its inception in 1984, the federal seat has been safely held by the Liberals - first by Mr Downer and then Mr Briggs.
It has previously been the target of minor parties. In 1998, lead singer of Redgum, John Schumann, took a tilt at the seat as a candidate for the Australian Democrats and performed well securing 21.8 per cent of first-preference votes.
This election, a Newspoll published late last month showed Ms Sharkie's primary support had soared to 38 per cent, putting her in a winning position on a two-party-preferred basis.
Despite the anti-Briggs sentiment, Ms Sharkie battled to overcome the incumbent's 12.5 per cent margin.
Liberals had been confident their brand would overcome the confrontation and reports of people spitting on Mr Briggs' flyers at polling booths.
That view was shared by Richard Anthony Regar, of Lobethal.
"I voted for the Liberal Party because I would rather vote for them than the others, that is all," he said.
But Doug Craig, from Mount Torrens, said he voted for Ms Sharkie because he and "quite a few people up here don't feel like we are being adequately represented by Jamie Briggs".
"Rebekha Sharkie, through her association, with the Xenophon Party, she has provided an alternative that gives a bit of promise for some more close-to-the-ground representation," he said.
MAYO BRIGGS (LIB) DALLIMORE (ALP) SHARKIE (NXT)MARGIN 12.6%