Labor's Canning by-election candidate Matt Keogh has already chalked up a big win: dethroning Tony Abbott.
That's the view of Labor's federal member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan, who campaigned with the lawyer in the electorate on Wednesday.
Ms MacTiernan suggested that recent polls showing a tight competition between Mr Keogh and Liberal candidate Andrew Hastie had prompted the conservative party to change leaders.
But a ReachTEL poll on Monday night during the leadership spill showed the switch had instantly boosted Mr Hastie's prospects.
It asked Canning residents to consider a scenario in which Mr Turnbull was prime minister and this resulted in Mr Hastie's lead jumping by five points on a two-party preferred basis to 57-43.
"I think Matt has already achieved a great deal. I mean, he's unseated a prime minister," Ms MacTiernan told reporters.
"There is no doubt that that very real concern about what's going on in the seat of Canning has been one of the factors that has precipitated that change in leadership.
"It's a great thing for Australia that Matt has already achieved."
She said the timing of the leadership challenge - five days before the by-election - showed the Liberals were worried that Mr Keogh was "closing that barrier".
Until his sudden death from a suspected heart attack in July, sitting Liberal MP Don Randall had held the seat for 15 years and left it with a double digit margin.
"This has been an amazing swing that we saw and quite clearly, the other side ... were spooked and felt that they needed to do something quite radical," Ms MacTiernan said.
"I don't think there's any doubt."
Mr Keogh has carefully avoided naming Mr Hastie and has instead referred previously to an on-the-nose Mr Abbott and now a complicit Mr Turnbull.
And he's continuing to emphasise the division within the Liberal party that the spill highlighted.
"We've seen great dysfunction from this Liberal government over the last few days," Mr Keogh said.
"The change of the prime ministership has made no difference.
"Malcolm Turnbull has made it abundantly clear: he's supporting all of the government's policies, supporting all of the government's broken promises and cuts."
Mr Keogh and Mr Hastie will go head-to-head in a live ABC radio broadcast from Armadale's Jull Street Mall on Thursday morning.
It's understood the Labor candidate will be joined by deputy leader Tanya Plibersek, while Mr Turnbull has ruled out a visit to the electorate before Saturday's poll.
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