While most of the campaign will be focused on marginal seats in Sydney and its western suburbs, battles for votes are taking place in key electorates around the Canberra region.

Four weeks out from the election, Monaro incumbent and Deputy Premier John Barilaro said while there's pressure on the March 23 poll, there's also calmness.

"It's not like 'here we are one month out, I'd better amp up the campaign'. You have to work hard from the moment you're elected," he said.

Mr Barilaro said the upcoming election won't be like a regular election.

The Nationals leader is preferring to look at it as a series of byelections across the state.

But Monaro holds more significance than most seats.

The Queanbeyan area is more famous for its bellwether status federally, but the state seat of Monaro is one of the most important bellwethers in NSW. The party that forms government has won Monaro all but three times since 1927.

Monaro is the fourth most marginal seat in the state for the Coalition. The Nationals hold it by 2.5 per cent, despite a 0.5 per cent swing to Mr Barilaro in 2015.

Such is the importance of the seat, the NSW Nationals will be launching their campaign from Queanbeyan on Sunday.

With Monaro shaping up to be a tight contest, Mr Barilaro admitted constant leadership spills and infighting within the federal Coalition would affect the vote.

"If the federal Liberals and Nationals are going woeful, that will rub off, because people think we're the same," he said.

"People are sick and tired of political parties and the revolving door of the Prime Minister's office, and they're looking for a community champion."

While Sydney-based issues are likely to dominate the campaign, Mr Barilaro said the election will be decided in the bush.

"This election will be won or lost in regional NSW. There has been a shift over the last 18 months, a lot of minor parties like the Shooters and Fishers and One Nation have appeared in the regions and they're the threat to regional seats," he said.

"For the regions, the challenges are the always the same: heath, education and roads. But the cost of living is becoming an issue and the price of electricity."

Road spending has been a centrepiece for the 2019 campaign, with $27 million pledged for Dunns Creek Road in Queanbeyan and a $10 million upgrade to Captains Flat Road.

Mr Barilaro was a prominent voice against council amalgamations and said no new mergers would take place.

While Bombala Council had recently called to de-merge from Snowy Monaro Regional Council, Mr Barilaro said de-merging amalgamated councils was off the table.

Mr Barilaro is running for a third term, having previously said he would stand aside after two terms to preselect a newcomer.

While reneging on that promise, he said he was staying on to complete unfinished business.

"At every election I've made a number of commitments, and I've honoured them, they're either completed or they're finishing," he said.

"There's still a lot of work to get through."

Labor's candidate for Monaro Bryce Wilson said there's a lot of work to be done for the region, but what that work was differed from his opponent.

The former science teacher and adviser to Peter Garrett in federal Parliament was preselected for the seat in 2016, but he said two-and-a-half years was a long time in opposition.

"It was important for me to build a platform and be preselected as early as possible," Mr Wilson said.

"I said I would love to have a go at Monaro, but I needed to have a long run up for it, and I wanted to get in as early as possible, but I wouldn't recommend any longer than that."

As an opposition candidate in a tight contest, Mr Wilson said he's well aware of the pressure in running against Mr Barilaro.

However, he said the response he had received from residents was mostly positive.

"Do I feel the pressure of being a candidate for a marginal seat? Yeah, but it's not a life or death situation," he said.

"We've doorknocked on 18,500 doors and made thousands of phone calls. It's wonderful to lead a team of volunteers in taking on the Deputy Premier of NSW."

Mr Barilaro and the NSW government have backed the redevelopment of Sydney stadiums, but Mr Wilson said the decision had repercussions for Monaro.

He said increased funding for TAFE and hospitals in the area was a key focus of his election pitch.

"[The stadiums] may be a construction site in Sydney, but it's an issue across the state," Mr Wilson said.

"It screams priorities if [the government] thinks it has $2 billion to throw on stadiums in Sydney and not enough on other things. There's a myriad of things we can spend the money on instead."

Labor's promises include a site for a new preschool in Queanbeyan for 120 students, a new high school in Bungendore and a redevelopment of Cooma Hospital.

Whoever does get elected to Monaro on March 23, Mr Wilson said they would have a tough job on their hands.

"The important thing is that whoever gets in and wins, they have work hard and push for the region, because it's a high expectation electorate," he said.

Should she be elected next month, Wendy Tuckerman admitted she had some big shoes to fill.

The former mayor of Boorowa is attempting to become the next Liberal MP for Goulburn, following the retirement of long-standing member Pru Goward.

"She's been a fantastic advocate for the region, and with the effort she's put in, I want to make sure I'm doing as good or better than what she's achieved for the region," Ms Tuckerman said.

Ms Tuckerman was preselected to the seat only at the beginning of the year, joining the Liberals from the Nationals the month before.

Despite the electorate being classified as a safe seat, with a margin of 6.6 per cent to the Liberals, large swings in Goulburn aren't out of the question.

The 2015 poll saw the Liberals suffer a 20.2 per cent swing against it from Labor's Ursula Stephens, who is running again this year.

Ms Tuckerman said she wasn't concerned about the large swings suffered by the party at the last election.

"I'm not taking anything for granted, and I think it will be close," she said.

"It will be a battle."

Although she said her stint as mayor had given her name and facial recognition in Boorowa, much of the campaign had been spent boosting the profile outside of the town.

Ms Tuckerman said she would draw on her experience in local government and as administrator of an amalgamated council to advocate for regional areas in state parliament.

"I've been working hard since I was named as a candidate to get my face out there and touching base with all the communities to find out what they have to say."

Among the commitments pledged by the Liberals was a $200 million duplication of the Barton Highway over four years, $2.5 million for an upgrade to the nearby Crookwell Hospital and funding to fix water treatment issues in Yass.

The Liberal candidate said a key priority was improving services in the Goulburn area to prevent NSW residents having to cross the border into the ACT to access them.

"Ideally, it's better to upgrade facilities on this side of the border," she said.

"Previously, our communities weren't getting their fair share, and one of my motivations is that Goulburn gets their fair share."

Labor's candidate for the electorate, Ursula Stephens, agreed more had to be done to improve infrastructure in Goulburn to prevent an exodus to Canberra.

The former senator is contesting the seat for the second time this election, and said there's a greater appetite for change in the electorate after the retirement of Pru Goward.

"It was a very easy decision to run again because of the swing I got last time, and that while I didn't get over the line, that was as much because people weren't ready for Labor," Ms Stephens said.

"The over-spends in Sydney and those frustrations have welded into a much stronger mood for change."

Ms Stephens said she's counting on the mood for change to propel her into Macquarie Street, though she's not expecting another 20 per cent swing like in 2015.

She said the regions would decide the final outcome, with large infrastructure promises slated across the state by both parties.

At the top of the list for Goulburn, Ms Stephens said, was health spending.

"The underspend by the government on health infrastructure is staggering, that's been stressed everywhere I go," she said.

"The main issues for the region are infrastructure, renewable energy, hospitals and schools. It's the bread and butter stuff people have been saying to us."

Labor has promised $200 million for Goulburn Hospital along with a commitment to match the $5 million from federal Labor to fix water issues in Yass.

The water commitment was dependent on both state and federal Labor winning elections this year, although Ms Stephens said NSW Labor would honour the $11 million commitment from the NSW government should it win power.

With one month of campaigning to go, Ms Stephens said there's a tough road ahead, with the final outcome still too close to call.

Whoever does get in, however, she said they would to have to deal with a growing disconnect from party politics.

"People want to see a genuine, community connected politician. They don't want someone just spruiking party lines," she said.