Secret polling shows Dean Winter is the front runner to replace Rebecca White as Labor leader

Once all the votes are counted the Labor Party will elect a new leader to replace Rebecca White. Find out who is in contention.

Dean Winter MP and former Labor leader Rebecca White. Picture: Chris Kidd

As Dean Winter positions himself to take on the Labor leadership, secret polling reveals he is the most popular choice to replace Rebecca White.

Mr Winter has told his colleagues he is interested in the job but is not commenting publicly.

Another possible contender, Josh Willie who has been elected in Clark after giving up his Legislative Council seat, declined to comment on Saturday.

Ella Haddad, touted by some as a possible leader, is not believed to be pushing for the top job.

The polling by Freshwater Strategy, an interstate business management, research and polling consultancy, obtained by the Sunday Tasmanian, canvassed about 4000 voters in all five electorates.

Voters were asked: “If Rebecca White stepped down as Labor leader, who would be your preferred replacement?”

The choices for leader were Mr Winter, Mr Willie, Bass MP Janie Finlay, Braddon MPs Shane Broad and Anita Dow, the deputy leader.

Labor MP Josh Willie. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Winter was the clear winner in all seats but Bass where he and Ms Finlay both received 18 per cent support.

His biggest backers were in Lyons with 29 per cent supporting him, followed by 26 per cent in his own electorate of Franklin where Ms Dow had 11 per cent support and Mr Willie 7 per cent.

In Clark, Mr Winter received 22 per cent support with Mr Willie having 15 per cent of those questioned backing him.

The polling was done in February and of those who took part a big proportion opted for the answer “don’t care” when asked to choose.

The “don’t care” result was highest in Lyons with 41 per cent and lowest in Clark with 36 per cent.

Ms White announced she was stepping down as leader on Sunday.

While Mr Winter is in the party’s right faction - and has some hard-line detractors in the dominant left-faction - he is well-liked and respected for his time as mayor of Kingborough.

When he stood at the 2021 election he had to rely on intervention from the party’s national executive after being rejected by the state party’s administrative committee.

At last Saturday’s state election he finished with 8073 votes behind Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff with 9864 but ahead of Eric Abetz 6674 and David O’Byrne 6366.

Political analyst Professor Richard Herr said he believed there were three possible leadership challengers.

Labor's Ella Haddad.

“Dean Winter clearly has been touted as a likely leader, Josh Willie moved from the upper house to the lower house in order to be in a position as a leader and Ella Haddad has performed well in Clark and obviously could be a hat in the ring as well,” he said.

Prof Herr said the new Labor leader needed the party to “fall in behind them”.

“That was one of the problems Bec White suffered. After her second loss the party told her ‘we don’t need you anymore’ and then had to turn around almost immediately and say ‘come back we do’.”

The new leader, he said, also needed to be “bold” about Labor’s agenda.

“You only need to look at the letters to the editor and political cartoons to see everybody felt the last election was just pork barrelling, pork barrelling and pork barrelling. It was totally detached from any kind of genuine program for reform or change to get the state out of the doldrums.

“The Labor Party were shied off by the pokies’ debacle where they did stick out their chin and got thumped.

“You can’t retreat.

“The public want to vote for policies if they’re believable.

“For a party that’s rebuilding it must build credibility as an effective potential government and be bold without being reckless.”