Liberals choose candidate to fill Senate vacancy

Mr Sharma, a former member for Wentworth, was voted up by NSW Liberals on Sunday afternoon, dashing Mr Seselja's hopes to return to Parliament.

"He's a very impressive individual and a decent bloke who I know will bring a lot to the role of senator," Mr Seselja told The Canberra Times.

"He has deep foreign policy expertise which is particularly valuable at a time of significant international turmoil."

A former Australian ambassador to Israel, Mr Sharma is a member of the party's moderate faction, and is understood to have received a majority of 295 votes just before 5pm.

Former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance, who was thought to be the moderate faction's leading candidate, trailed him on 205 votes, according to a Liberal Party source.

Meanwhile, Mr Seselja's bid to return to the Senate was over when he received 155 votes.

The preselection battle was prompted by Ms Payne's retirement from the Senate in September, with NSW Liberal party members gathering from Sunday morning into the afternoon, to hear pitches from a long list of candidates.

Mr Seselja threw his hat into the ring for the coveted spot in October, after losing his seat in the 2022 federal election to independent David Pocock.

In an unlisted YouTube campaign video, released earlier this month, he announced his family would join "the exodus out of Canberra into regional NSW", and move to Queanbeyan.

The 46-year-old conservative had emerged as the Liberal right candidate, declaring he would focus on immigration numbers, cancel culture, and "the woke indoctrination of our kids" if he was selected.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Mr Sharma thanked Liberal party members and said he was "privileged" to have the opportunity to follow Ms Payne's steps.

"I would like to thank the party members for the opportunity to hold the Albanese government to account in the Senate over its many missteps and wrong decisions, and to fight for the many households across NSW struggling to deal with Labor's cost-of-living crisis," he said.

Alongside cost of living, he also highlighted national security as a policy interest, "in a time of greater global turmoil".

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton welcomed Mr Sharma's entry into the Senate "at a crucial time given events abroad and at home".

"His diplomatic and foreign policy expertise and experience will lend considerable weight and wisdom to the public policy debate given the precarious circumstances in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific," Mr Dutton said.

"Dave will speak with moral courage and provide moral clarity as we grapple with unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism on our own shores following Hamas' horrific terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October."

Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley also welcomed Mr Sharma to the Liberal's federal senate team, saying that his career will see him bring "a unique perspective to the Australian Senate".

"Dave Sharma is a fitting replacement for my good friend and trusted colleague of more than two decades ... Marise Payne," she said.

"Dave's keen foreign policy intellect will be particularly welcome given we are in the most dangerous set of geopolitical circumstances since the Second World War."

NSW senator Andrew Bragg said that Mr Sharma will "be an outstanding senator".