Gisele Kapterian, the tech executive backed by former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has won the preselection for the blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Bradfield, beating prominent Voice campaigner Warren Mundine.
The Salesforce executive won a majority of votes after just one round of voting, beating Mr Mundine 207 to 171.
Ms Kapterian was selected from a three-person race, which also included renowned Sydney cardiologist Michael Feneley, however he lacked the factional support.
She will now be tasked with retaining the critical blue-ribbon seat again teal independent Nicolette Boele, who shaved the former blue-ribbon seat down to a 4.2 per cent margin (from 16.6 per cent) in 2022.
Ms Kapterian, the moderate’s pick, received glowing commendations from party heavyweights including from former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and ex-federal treasurer Joe Hockey.
Gisele Kapterian has been selected as the candidate for the Liberal candidate for Bradfield. Picture: Newswire/ Gaye Gerard
Liberal heavyweights including Joe Hockey and Gladys Berejiklian came out to support Ms Kapterian at a campaign event this week. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard
While Mr Mundine was backed by the party’s conservative arm, including former prime minister Tony Abbott.
In a statement, Mr Mundine congratulated Ms Kapterian on her win. “Congratulations to Gisele and let’s win the seat,” he said.
In the lead up to the preselection battle, Mr Mundine personally doorknocked preselectors.
Ms Katperian’s win comes after Peter Dutton was asked this week whether the Liberal Party should make more effort to preselect female candidates in safe seats.
While he said he “of course” wanted to see “more women running seats,” he said the party had a “democratically-based process where our members make decisions about who the candidates will be”.
Following his retirement announcement, Mr Fletcher had also expressed his desire for the Liberal Party to preselect an “outstanding Liberal woman” to fight for the seat.
The Salesforce executive beat Warren Mundine. BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA. NewsWire Photos. OCTOBER 5, 2024. CPAC convention for the Institute of Public Affairs. Warren Mundine AO. Picture: NewsWire/ Richard Gosling
Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley also publicly threw her support behind Ms Kapterian, stating she was best-placed to represent the electorate.
“In Gisele, the people of Bradfield would find a Federal MP who isn’t just a community champion capable of advocating on their local issues, but also more than able to serve in future high office,” she said.
“Like so many people in Bradfield, Gisele is a first-class example of Australia’s multicultural success story. She resonates with her local community because she is representative of her local community.
“Warren Mundine is an ideological powerhouse in our party and as was demonstrated during the Voice referendum, he is a strong and persuasive communicator.”