In December 2021, Curtin Independent was formed to search for an
independent candidate for the
Division of Curtin, a seat held by the Liberal Party for almost all of its existence. At the time, the seat was held by
Celia Hammond. Curtin Independent was part of a
wider movement of political community engagement groups formed ahead of the
2022 Australian federal election to field independent candidates. On 27 January 2022, Curtin Independent announced that Chaney was selected by the group to run as an independent candidate for Curtin. Her election campaign spent almost A$1 million, including $350,000 from
Climate 200. Supporters of Chaney during the election campaign included Fred Chaney, who wrote an opinion piece in
WAtoday,
The Sydney Morning Herald, and
The Age supporting her and saying the Liberal Party has "lost its way".
The Greens encouraged their supporters to preference Chaney ahead of other candidates by putting her second. At the
2022 election, which was held on 21 May 2022, Chaney was elected as the member for Curtin, defeating Hammond with 51% of the
two-candidate-preferred vote to Hammond's 49%. Chaney has been labelled as one of a group of "
teal independents" who were elected at the 2022 federal election. The ABC reported Chaney had received over $900,000 in the four months preceding the election, with White responding "if your opponent is spending well over seven figures then there's an obligation to respond" when asked about his campaign spending. ==Political views==