In late 2004, Anderson announced her intention to contest Labor preselection for the seat of MacDonnell, traditionally a safe Labor seat, but then held by two-term CLP member John Elferink. She had previously been preselected by the party to stand at the 2001 election, but had withdrawn. She subsequently resigned from the ATSIC board, and was confirmed as the Labor candidate in March. She was widely seen as a star candidate during the campaign, due to her high profile in Central Australia, stemming from her work as an ATSIC Commissioner. Her campaign suffered an early blow when her husband was charged with stealing offences in February. She suffered a further blow when, through April and May, the "Alice Springs News" and "The Age" aired sweeping allegations of corruption and mismanagement during her husband's administration of Papunya. She resisted calls from the opposition to stand aside as the candidate, dismissing the claims as a smear campaign. In spite of the allegations, she was easily elected in June, defeating Elferink with a swing of more than 30%.