Sending unsolicited texts to more than five million Australians doesn’t seem to have given mining magnate Clive Palmer an edge over his political rivals.

Mr Palmer is expected to run in the marginal Townsville electorate of Herbert in Queensland, currently held by Labor’s Cathy O’Toole.

But a Newspoll has found his primary vote there is just eight per cent.

That compares to nine per cent for both Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Katter’s Australian Party and seven per cent for the Greens.

Labor and the Liberal National Party both have primary votes of 32 per cent, the Newspoll found.

Mr Palmer previously held the federal seat of Fairfax between 2013 and 2016, under the banner of the Palmer United Party.

Professor of Law at the University of Queensland Graeme Orr says “a soufflé’s not going to rise twice”.

“It is an unusual thing.

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview