With Prime Minister Scott Morrison expected to call the federal election shortly after next week's budget, his party is still yet to pick a challenger to Labor's Kristy McBain in the ultra-marginal electorate surrounding the ACT.

The Canberra Times has confirmed former Queanbeyan-Palerang Council deputy mayor Mark Schweikert and ex-Navy seaman Jerry Nockles are vying to be the Liberal candidate.

The two men have put their hand up ahead of previous elections and byelections, but have failed to secure the nomination.

The preselection of Liberal candidates across NSW has been drawn out amid a messy internal dispute which has sparked court challenges and a federal intervention.

The Liberal Party's federal executive earlier this month temporarily took control of the NSW branch in order to shield three sitting MPs - Alex Hawke, Sussan Ley and Trent Zimmerman - from preselection contests.

The NSW branch has been left to run normal candidates selection processes in other still-vacant seats, including Eden-Monaro, Parramatta and Tony Abbott's old seat of Warringah.

The delay in choosing a candidate in Eden-Monaro has been considered a blow to the Morrison government's hopes of stealing back the seat off Labor.

Labor won the 2020 byelection with a margin of less than one per cent and the seat is always considered up for grabs, having yo-yoed between the major parties for decades.

But Ms McBain, who came to national prominence while serving as a Bega Valley Shire mayor during the Black Summer fires, is seen as a rising star who is capable of consolidating Labor's grip on the seat.

With no Liberal candidate installed, Royalla-based senator Jim Molan has been left to announce and spruik government spending in the region.

A senior Liberal party source said winning the seat off Labor "would not be easy".

"But we're not giving up, it's certainly not being written off," the source said.

Ms McBain told The Canberra Times that while the Liberals had been "fixated on themselves with court cases over preselection rights", she had been focused on serving her electorate.

"Eden-Monaro is a large electorate that deserves real commitment from its representatives, that's why my sole focus has remained on working with all levels of government to build a better future for our communities," she said.