BITTER DUP in-fighting turned the South Down election race into something of a soap opera.
The party's decision to choose Diane Forsythe over former leader Edwin Poots led to several resignations, including that of veteran MLA Jim Wells, and public endorsements of TUV candidate Harold McKee.
But in the end the big story was Sinn Féin's impressive showing in the constituency which was once an SDLP heartland.
Sinn Féin claimed 27.5 per cent of first preference votes compared to just 8 per cent for the SDLP.
Sinéad Ennis got 14,381 first preferences - significantly in excess of the 9,159 quota.
Her colleague Cathy Mason, who is one of the assembly's new MLAs, also grabbed a seat on first preference votes alone, taking in 9,963.
There was a strong showing for the Alliance's Patrick Brown, who claimed more first preference votes (6,942) than Ms Forsythe (6,497).
Mr Brown came within 750 votes of being elected in the 2017 assembly poll and his decent performance was a further indication of the Alliance surge across the north.
The SDLP will have been disappointed by their showing, with the sitting MLA Colin McGrath claiming 6,082 first preference votes.
Karen McKevitt, a former SDLP MLA in the constituency who stood again after the resignation of Sinéad Bradley, claimed 3,006 first preferences, behind the TUV's Harold McKee on 3,273.
Ms Ennis and Ms Mason told The Irish News they felt their "positive campaign" had resonated with voters worried by soaring fuel and food costs.
But Ms Ennis admitted she was surprised by the scale of her win.
"We probably weren't expecting that," she said.
"We ran a very good campaign, a very positive campaign, as we did across the north. We're delighted to get the two candidates in - that was our aim.
"People were keen to talk to us about the issues which were affecting them. They were ready to speak to us, they knew what the issues were. People want to talk about the cost of living. They want to talk about the issues which affect them."
Ms Ennis said "not once" did anyone raise the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol as an issue of concern.
"It just didn't feature," she said.
She said her party was keen to get back in government.
"We want to be there," she said. "We have election pledges and things we want to do but we can't deliver them unless we're in government."
Ms Mason, who looked stunned by her emphatic vote, said she was pleased to be elected on her first count.
"We knew we had a really positive campaign but you can't be sure until they announce it," she said.
She said she was looking forward to setting foot in Stormont for the first time as an MLA.
"It's going to be a really big change but I had a good grounding as chair of the council (Newry and Mourne District Council)," she said.
"I'm just really looking forward to getting stuck in."