Jacinda Ardern's personal popularity has been tarnished by a cacophony of cock-ups and controversies.
Simon Bridges has had a bump, but is still totally out of Ardern's league.
Newshub's latest Newshub-Reid Research Poll shows just how tied Ardern's personal popularity is to the Labour Party.
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In the Preferred Prime Minister stakes, Ardern has taken a massive drop of 10.6 percent, settling at 38.4 - almost matching Labour's slide in Newshub's poll.
Simon Bridges gets a 2.5 percent bump to 6.7.
There's even better news for Bridges - Judith Collins is losing her mojo, down 1.9 percent to a 5.2 approval rating.
At Auckland's Diwali festival on Saturday, you couldn't wipe the smile off Bridges' face. Voters delivered him the ultimate treat on his birthday - a poll putting National back in the game.
For a while, the rise and rise of Jacinda Ardern seemed unstoppable. She had political capital to burn - but then she started blazing it up.
The Prime Minister and her party have been beset by a string of scandals and controversies, including the Labour sexual assault investigation, failing first-home buyers, the land dispute at Ihumātao and KiwiBuild flopping.
The Prime Minister told Newshub there was nothing she would have handled differently. When asked if the stardust was wearing off, Ardern said she never bought into that in the first place.
As National is still on the opposition benches on this poll, the party needs MMP allies.
"We'll definitely have options in 2020, watch this space," says Bridges.
ACT leader David Seymour doubling ACT's seats to two gives National cause for celebration. Desperate attention grabs by Seymour, coupled with his hard work on euthanasia, have paid off.
"The National Party have been looking for friends and I've said to them, we've been here all along,'' says Seymour.
New Zealand First traditionally does better on election day than non-election year polls, meaning Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, could still be kingmaker.
"Winston Peters has been a negative effect on New Zealand politics," says Seymour.
A blue/black/pink coalition seems near impossible - Peters has even called for Bridges' resignation.
When asked how he could possibly work with Peters, Bridges was vague: "Let's see next year. I feel real good about things".
Ardern says Labour hasn't been hurt by being part of an MMP Government coalition, but wouldn't say if she'd prefer Labour to govern alone next election.
"Those are all choices for the voters," she says.
And those choices just got a lot more interesting.
The latest Newshub-Reid Research Poll was conducted between 2-9 October 2019. 1000 people were surveyed, 700 by telephone and 300 by internet panel.
It has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
Newshub.
