Three-cornered contest could split Wagga's conservative vote as Liberals unveil Julia Ham for state election

The state division of Wagga has historically voted conservative, returning the Liberal Party for the last several decades.

The downfall of former member Daryl Maguire put the seat into open contest, resulting in the by-election win of independent Dr Joe McGirr and his subsequent re-election in 2019, and a collapse in the confidence of Wagga's traditional conservative base.

While the NSW Liberal-National coalition do not typically contest the same seats, the nomination of Ms Ham has the potential to end a decades-old ceasefire over which party larger regional centres like Wagga belong to.

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Nationals candidate Andrianna Benjamin said she was unconcerned by the additional competition, but could not resist a dig at her opponent's late campaign announcement, which comes just five weeks out from the election.

"What is wonderful about Australia is it's a democracy, and almost anyone can put up their hand and seek election in order to represent their community," Ms Benjamin said.

"I've been listening to our communities over the past nine weeks and it's been great to have our communities wanting to see young representation, someone that has the energy to ensure the whole electorate gets the representation that they deserve."

Incumbent Dr McGirr congratulated Ms Ham on her nomination, and said he thought extra competition for votes in the electorate would be a net positive for Wagga.

"I'm just pleased there is an interest in the seat, and I'm pleased for the community's sake," Dr McGirr said.

Nominations close on March 8, with election hopefuls officially announced the following day at the ballot draw. Early voting opens on March 18 and postal vote applications close at 6pm on March 20.

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