WA State Election 2025: Liberal Merome Beard confident of chances in Mid-West amid Opposition leader challenge

Liberal candidate for the Mid-West Merome Beard says she is not worried about the higher profile of Opposition leader Shane Love as the pair battle for the newly-formed electorate. Ms Beard, a former Nationals MP-turned-Liberal will face her former party leader in the polls come March after their respective seats were combined in a redistribution to make one. The Mid-West seat now encircles the electorate of Geraldton and spans as far north as Carnarvon and all the way down to Gingin, north-east of Perth. Ms Beard said despite her opponent’s high profile she was determined to win. “I acknowledge that, but I’m a competitor,” she said on Saturday. Ms Beard and Mr Love are the front runners for the seat but Labor has also named Greater Geraldton councillor Jenna Denton as its candidate for the seat. Ms Beard said the key issues for people in her electorate was housing, water and a lack of infrastructure, and she was used to the large size of the electorate and driving the long distance. She said she had been spending a lot of time travelling to meet perspective voters. “I’m actually spending a lot of time on the road, but that’s nothing new,” Ms Beard said. “I actually do a lot of kilometres and I’m talking to a lot of people and I’m getting a good reception.”