Deputy Premier Paul Toole hopes for a fourth term as Member for Bathurst

The Nationals leader has been the local member since March, 2011 and in 2022 was pre-selected to be the party's candidate for the seat of Bathurst at the 2023 election.

Mr Toole said he wants to "continue the momentum" by being elected for a fourth term.

READ MORE: The Bathurst candidates for the 2023 state election

He said there are a number of major projects under way, which he wants to progress further and bring to completion.

These include the $73 million upgrade to the Great Western Highway at Raglan, the $200 million redevelopment of Bathurst Hospital, and the $25 million investment into local water security projects.

While these projects are the big-ticket items, he said there are smaller investments that are also important.

"Even smaller investments like cost of living, our back to school vouchers, our creative kids and active kids vouchers, are all important for our local communities," Mr Toole said.

He believes he has a track record of working hard for Bathurst and that's something he said he will continue to do if voters return him as the local member at the March 25 election.

"We've been working hard for the last four years and will continue to work hard for the electorate," he said.

"This is about making sure that the Bathurst electorate gets its fair share of funding."

Bathurst has been considered a Nationals safe seat for some time.

At the last election in 2019, Mr Toole secured 55.1 per cent of the first preference votes.

While he lost ground compared the the previous election in 2015, where he had 59.9 per cent of the first preference votes, he still had a clear hold on the electorate.

In 2019, his next closest rival, Beau Riley of the Country Labor Party, only had 20.5 per cent of the first preference votes.

The Coalition has been in government for the entirety of Mr Toole's state politics career.

However, the major betting agencies are predicting that the Labor Party will form government at the next election, meaning Mr Toole could find himself in opposition for the first time.

But Mr Toole is not paying too much attention to the odds.

"At the end of the day, we have so many projects that are already in the pipeline that are important for regional and rural NSW," he said.

"Every election is different. Every election is going to be tight. Every election will come down to seat by seat and we'll certainly be working hard for this seat, as will my fellow parliamentarians across the state in looking at trying to get the government re-elected."

Should he be re-elected while the Coalition finds itself in opposition, he said he will continue to advocate for Bathurst.

"Nothing will change with me. We'll continue to work hard for the people of our community to ensure that we have a strong future for the area," he said.

"I want to make sure that as my family continues to grow up that they have the opportunities to find a job here locally, to have access to health services and to be able to buy a home locally without having to leave town."

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