THE six nominees ready to fight for the chance to represent the Australian Liberal Party in the battle for the federal seat of Riverina were announced yesterday.Wagga businessman Charles Morton and Tumut deputy major John Larter have both been confirmed as pre-selection candidates after earlier signalling their intention to stand.Former Wagga City councillor Julie Elphick, marketing manager Karla McCormack, secondary school teacher Paul McCormack and company director and brand manager Andrew Negline complete the list of candidates.The successful candidate will be chosen in a ballot by the selection committee consisting of 33 people, 30 of which are local Liberal Party branch members.The pre-selection will be held on Saturday June 5.With Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expected to call a federal election between November and January next year, the Riverina seat will be hotly contested following Kay Hull's decision to retire.After the Liberals made the contentious decision to contest the Riverina seat, commonly regarded as a safe Nationals seat, the call went out for potential candidates to come forward.NSW Liberal Party director Mark Neeham yesterday declared the party was impressed with the response to the call for candidates."We are very pleased with the interest we have received from local people in nominating for the seat," he said."We believe that we will have a strong Liberal candidate who will be able to represent the views and interests of the people of the Riverina."However we do acknowledge that it will be a challenge for the Liberal Party to win this seat."But we will be offering the community the opportunity to vote for a Liberal candidate who is committed to working for the area and being a strong voice for the electorate."