The seat of Hunter has its first confirmed candidate for the looming federal election, but Labor incumbent Joel Fitzgibbon and former One Nation star Stuart Bonds remain undecided.
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The Nationals pre-selected Maitland Christian School community relations officer James Thomson as their candidate on Saturday.
Hunter is reportedly among a list of 10 electorates in NSW the Coalition will target, though Mr Thomson is a relatively low-profile candidate and the Nationals kept his pre-selection low-key.
Mr Fitzgibbon, who is weighing up whether to run again after publicly falling out with Labor over its energy policies, dismissed Mr Thomson's candidacy as a sign the Nationals were not serious about flipping his seat.
"They called for nominations and only one person put their hand up. That shows their commitment to the electorate," Mr Fitzgibbon said on Monday.
Nationals leader Michael McCormack said on Sky News that the party's local branch had picked a strong candidate.
"He has been working for that community and for the education system for many, many years, a great nationalist candidate and ... very much looking forward to campaigning with him as we work towards the next election," Mr McCormack said.
The Newcastle Herald understands former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Queensland MP Matt Canavan have talked to Mr Bonds, but the coalminer's opposition to recently passed industrial relations law reforms remains a stumbling block to him running for the party.
Mr Bonds won 21.6 per cent of the primary vote against Mr Fitzgibbon in the 2019 election, when the latter lost 14 per cent of his primary vote and suffered a 9.5 per cent swing against him after preferences.
The Nationals' Josh Angus won 23.5 per cent of the primary count, despite being quarantined from the media during the campaign, and reduced Mr Fitzgibbon's margin to just 3 per cent after preferences.
Mr Bonds fell out with One Nation after senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts voted to approve the industrial relations changes.
The Nationals' Coalition partner, the Liberals, have not ruled out running a candidate in Hunter, which includes the entire western side of Lake Macquarie as well as Cessnock, Singleton and Muswellbrook.
The Nationals retained the state seat of Upper Hunter on May 22, beating Labor across the three booths in its traditional heartland of Singleton.
Labor's primary vote collapsed to 21 per cent, leading to the resignation of NSW leader Jodi McKay on Friday.
Mr Thomson said in a media statement that he was already working to secure the future of the Hunter.
"Every day I have the people of the Hunter foremost in my mind, especially the next generation of Hunter citizens and regional Australians," he said.
"We need to ensure that there are jobs in the regions moving forward, and I know the Nationals are unwavering in this belief as they lay the economic foundations for regional, rural and remote areas to thrive well into the future."
Scott Morrison told the Coalition party room last week that the election would be in 2022, rather than at the end of this year.
The Newcastle Herald has been told the Liberals have not scheduled pre-selection in some Sydney seats until November, suggesting the election will not be held in 2021.
Medowie solicitor Brooke Vitnell and fellow lawyer Nell McGill are the Liberal frontrunners to contest the seats of Paterson and Shortland respectively.
The party is vetting pre-selection candidates for the two Labor-held seats, which are also on the Liberals' hit list in NSW.