A Nationals push to go it alone in the NSW Senate race in a bid to pick up an extra seat at the expense of the Liberals will be decided soon, says leader Michael McCormack.
The party has already preselected four Senate candidates in NSW - Perin Davey, Sam Farraway, Jamie Chaffey and Paul Cocking.
But while the usual policy is to run a joint ticket with the Liberals, there is a push within the Nationals to go it alone in a bid to pick up two Senate seats in NSW at the federal poll due in May.
Mr McCormack told reporters in Menindee on Thursday the decision was not far off
"It's important that NSW has a Nationals senator, if not two, representing them as rural and regional NSW is a large area," he said.
He said the state - which will elect six senators in at the next poll - had been well served by former senator Fiona Nash, who lost her seat due to the citizenship debacle, and retiring colleague John 'Wacka' Williams.
Without a separate ticket, the Nationals' number one candidate would be number three on the coalition ticket behind two Liberals, Hollie Hughes and Andrew Bragg, with sitting senator Jim Molan taking the number four spot and the Nationals in fifth.
Senator Molan has already begun a campaign to secure "below the line" votes in a bid to hold his seat.
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