Former Joe Hockey staffer Trent Zimmerman has won preselection in the federal seat of North Sydney, prompting calls for him to resign from his role as acting president of the NSW Liberals.
It was widely expected that Mr Zimmerman would win Monday's preselection ballot and he is also tipped to comfortably win the by-election to replace the former treasurer on December 5.
Prior to Monday's result, veteran Liberal strategist Grahame Morris said Mr Zimmerman would have to quit his internal party role if preselected.
"You cannot have him sitting with one hat saying: `How much are we going to spend on me' ... and the poor old campaign director would have the candidate and the president as the one person - that would be just silly," Mr Morris told Sky News.
The Liberals hold North Sydney by almost 16 per cent and it's believed Labor isn't likely to run a candidate.
