Federal election 2022: Josh Frydenberg and Monique Ryan hit booths in Kooyong

It’s the blue-chip booth with the power to attract the political heavyweights. And they were all out in force as pre-polling kicked off.

Treasurer and Kooyong MP Josh Frydenberg hands out how to vote cards at a polling booth in Hawthorn alongside former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu. Picture: Hugo Timms

Hundreds of voters in Kooyong have flocked to a star-studded booth in Hawthorn, as pre-poll voting for the 2022 federal election began on Monday.

Incumbent member and federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was a constant presence at the Guest St booth, as was high-profile independent candidate Dr Monique Ryan, who was widely predicted to come within striking distance and possibly win the prized blue-ribbon seat on May 21.

Of the 100 voters polled across Monday and Tuesday morning, 56 told NewsCorp they had voted for Mr Frydenberg, 36 for Dr Ryan, with the remaining eight votes split between the Greens, Labor and the United Australia Party.

The early result would be welcome news to Mr Frydenberg, who holds Kooyong with a substantially diminished margin of 6.4 per cent and faces a stern challenge from Dr Ryan, who has the support of by Hawthorn millionaire Simon Holmes a Court and his Climate 200 movement.

But despite comfortably beating Dr Ryan over the exit poll, many supporters of Dr Ryan were only too eager to tell NewsCorp Australia that they had apostatised from the Liberal Party due to their intense dislike of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“I like Josh (Frydenberg) a lot, but I just cannot stand Scott Morrison,” one voter said

Another Dr Ryan voter confessed to being a “dyed in the wool” Liberal Party supporter, who had changed their vote due to their dislike of Mr Morrison.

The diligent presence of the incumbent at the Guest St booth suggests that, in keeping with his statements to the media in recent weeks, he is taking the threat of Dr Ryan and the independent movement seriously.

“Every vote is going to count,” was Mr Frydenberg’s frequent comment to voters who bustled past the Treasurer on their way to cast their vote.

Former Premier Ted Baillieu and Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson were also on hand to help Mr Frydenberg, but their presence was arguably outshone by the surprise appearance of Simon Holmes a Court, the founder of the Climate 200 movement and staunch opponent of the Liberal Party.

Mr Holmes a Court, who reacted angrily to a News Corp Australia reporter for taking his photograph after asking them not to do so, is supporting a number of high-profile independents in traditional Liberal strongholds across the country, including Zoe Daniel in nearby Goldstein, Kate Chaney in the Perth division of Kooyong and Allegra Spender the Sydney electorate of Wentworth.

But critics of Mr Holmes a Court argue the term “independent” is misleading, because the candidates are only running against Liberal parliamentarians.

Also casting their vote on Monday was high-profile barrister Julian Burnside QC, who won more than 20 per cent of the primary vote against Mr Frydenberg in 2019 representing the Greens.

Should Mr Frydenberg and the Liberal lost Kooyong, it would be a stunning result in a seat which was formerly held by Sir Robert Menzies.