A personal attack on Nick Xenophon last week has done little to dent the former senator's play for the South Australian parliament.
Mr Xenophon was described as manipulative and controlling by an ex-girlfriend but a new poll has him winning the seat of Hartley with 53 per cent of the two-party vote to depose sitting Liberal Vincent Tarzia.
The Seven News-ReachTEL survey gives Mr Xenophon, the SA Best party leader, 29 per cent of the primary vote but he surges ahead on preferences.
The survey of 610 people comes after a former partner and now SA upper house candidate, Jenny Low, described their seven-year relationship as inappropriate.
Ms Low revealed last week that she was 23 and Mr Xenophon was 48 when their relationship began almost 10 years ago.
"I hope that people can see most voters are more interested in the issues that impact their day to day lives rather than the private lives of candidates," Mr Xenophon told ABC radio on Friday.
The poll also comes just days after former state Labor minister Grace Portolesi announced she would also run in the Adelaide eastern suburbs electorate.
She held the seat for eight years before losing to Mr Tarzia in 2014.
"I think this will be an election like no other in living memory in South Australia where there is going to be a genuine three-way contest in a whole stack of seats," Mr Xenophon said.
Premier Jay Weatherill questioned the scientific value of the survey and said the Liberal and SA Best parties would just splinter the conservative vote.
"You won't know what you'll end up with," he said.
The premier said it was too early to consider doing a preference deal with Mr Xenophon's SA Best party to edge out Mr Tarzia in Hartley.
"Our interest is to make sure that we get significant votes so our preferences don't count," he said.
