The battle for Pearce: who will replace Christian Porter in the Perth electorate?

If anything can be guaranteed in the Western Australian seat of Pearce, it is that whoever replaces Christian Porter, it will not be a man.

The urban fringe division that hugs the coast north of Perth has belonged to the Liberals for 33 years, with Porter holding Pearce for nearly a decade before his dramatic fall from grace.

The Labor candidate is the Wanneroo mayor, Tracey Roberts.

Roberts, Riley and Aitken all declined to speak on the record about the campaign.

William Bowe, of the Poll Bludger blog, says his money is on Labor in Pearce, with the latest Newspoll showing a 9% swing to the opposition across the state.

The seat of Pearce covers a fast-growing belt of new coastal subdivisions on the northern outskirts of Perth, home to British and African migrants and young mortgaged-up families who have to commute for up to an hour to reach the city. Further to the east is a thriving agriculture region.

A lack of rail connections, a shortage of healthcare facilities and the risk of bushfire will be key issues in the campaign.