More than 70 per cent of respondents to a Cowra Guardian and Young Witness poll say they will vote for The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in the upcoming Cootamundra by-election.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The poll had more than 1000 respondents and only asked readers to vote along party lines as no candidates have been nominated yet.
Less than seven per cent of our readers said they would vote for an independent (2.51), the Greens (1.16) or the Liberal Party (1.45).
The Nationals polled 12.64 per cent and Labor 11.2.
Labor's Charlie Sheahan, who stood for Country Labor at the 2015 election, has put up his hand to run in the by-election but the SFFP and the Nationals are yet to name a candidate.
At the 2015 State election, after the distribution of preferences, Katrina Hodgkinson received 70.42 per cent of the vote. Country Labor Candidate Charlie Sheahan finished with 29.58 per cent of the vote.
SFFP Upper House MLC Robert Borsak said he was flattered by the response to our poll and has suggested the Party will run a candidate for the seat.
"We have to take a modest approach to polls like this, but we do appreciate the vote of confidence we have from the readers," he said.
"We'll give the by-election our best shot, and we hope that on polling day people back us the way they have in your poll."
Mr Borsack said his party are close to finalising a candidate for the Cootamundra by-election.
"We've had ten good people put up their hands, but we have got some time to choose our candidate because we don't think the election will be held until the end of October or early November," he said.
"We would hope to have our candidate pre-selected by the end of August.
"Our polling tells us the Nationals are down from 65 per cent to around 40 per cent and of course your straw poll is indicating even stronger numbers, but we won't take the constituents of Cootamundra for granted that is for sure."
Mr Borsack said once they have a candidate they will release their policy stances on wider political issues like schools, roads and health.
The Nationals opened nominations for candidates on Thursday last week and will close them on Friday, August 10, then party members will vote for a candidate.
