Craig Chung to be endorsed as Liberal candidate for Kogarah within days

Chris Minns holds his electorate with a margin of just 0.1 per cent and the Liberals have finally decided on who will take him on. But have they left their run too late?

Former City of Sydney Councillor Craig Chung is set to take on Labor Leader Chris Minns as the Liberal candidate in Kogarah, but party sources fear his candidacy will come far too late to unseat Mr Minns in the knife-edge seat.

Multiple Liberal sources told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Chung is set to be endorsed as the party’s candidate for Kogarah within days.

It comes after Mr Chung lost a preselection ballot for the seat of Ryde to local mayor Jordan Lane.

Mr Chung, a lawyer, was previously a City of Sydney councillor but did not recontest the most recent local government elections.

The Telegraph understands that Mr Chung grew up in Kogarah.

Former City of Sydney Councillor, Liberal Craig Chung is set to face off against Labor Leader Chris Minns in Kogarah Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Despite Labor’s margin in Kogarah being cut to a minuscule 0.1 per cent, the Liberal Party has so-far been unable to preselect a candidate.

Former candidate Scott Yung had been wooed for the seat, but would not run without the Liberals providing him a “safety net”.

The difference in first-preference votes between Mr Minns and Mr Yung at the 2019 election was fewer than 100 votes – with Mr Minns winning on preferences.

Despite the wafer thin margin in Kogarah, Liberals believe that they have left their run far too late to be in with a shot at unseating the Labor Leader from his electorate.

“It’s way too late for us to win,” one source said of Mr Chung’s impending endorsement.