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Katy Gallagher's commanding lead as preferred chief minister is the result of a "honeymoon" period as a new Labor leader, Canberra Liberals leader Zed Seselja says.
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The Canberra Times' exclusive Patterson poll shows Ms Gallagher has a two-to-one advantage as preferred leader, with 54 per cent of voters preferring her to 26 per cent who want Mr Seselja in the top job.
Mr Seselja said yesterday Ms Gallagher's honeymoon was over after 18 months in the top job.
The ACT Greens said the outcome of the Canberra Times poll of preferred chief minister was the result of the Canberra Liberals' "negative contribution" to the most recent assembly.
But Mr Seselja said Saturday's election remained "very close", despite lead pollster Keith Patterson describing Ms Gallagher's advantage in the preferred leader poll as "enormous".
The phone poll of 1203 eligible voters, conducted by Patterson Research Group between October 11 and 14, showed that 54 per cent of those surveyed believed Ms Gallagher would make a better chief minister, while 26 per cent preferred Mr Seselja for the top job.
Ms Gallagher's lead over Mr Seselja as preferred chief minister was greatest in her own electorate of Molonglo.
The Opposition Leader was preferred least in Molonglo, his former electorate, where Ms Gallagher had the support of 58 per cent of voters to Mr Seselja's 24 per cent.
The Liberal leader fared best in his new electorate of Brindabella, where he was preferred by 29 per cent of respondents to Ms Gallagher's 47 per cent.
While two-thirds (68 per cent) of Liberal voters across the ACT preferred Mr Seselja as chief minister, there were still 15 per cent who said they would rather have Ms Gallagher in the Legislative Assembly's top job.
But Mr Seselja said yesterday Saturday's election would be close, despite the polling results.
"I certainly know that Katy Gallagher is likeable," Mr Seselja said.
"The real question is not whether she's likeable, it's whether or not people can afford another four years of her government.
"Obviously that's the case when you change from a long serving leader to someone who's only been in the job 12 months.
"It's not unusual that leaders get a honeymoon in terms of their popularity."
The Patterson Research poll shows Mr Seselja's approval ratings have plummeted since the 2008 election, where he was nearly neck-and-neck with then chief minister Jon Stanhope as preferred chief minister, at 40 per cent to 41.6 per cent.
Mr Seselja said: "Obviously not having seen all the numbers I'm not going to get into a running commentary on the detail."
Ms Gallagher said elections were about more than which leader voters preferred.
"I've worked really hard, so it's nice to see there's a level of support for my leadership," she said.
"[But] the election is much more than that.
"My focus hasn't changed, it will be on bringing our campaign home now."
ACT Greens leader Meredith Hunter said the result was definitive. "Canberra's a progressive place and obviously Zed has not connected with the majority of Canberra voters," she said.
