Wagga Libs vote drops after federal spill

Liberal polling ahead of the Wagga Wagga by-election in NSW shows the state party's vote has plummeted in the wake of the federal leadership chaos.

The Liberal primary vote has fallen 12 points from 37 per cent to 25 per cent according to a ReachTEL poll published in The Daily Telegraph ahead of Saturday's vote.

Liberal candidate Julia Ham is battling to retain the seat for the party, despite coalition partner the Nationals not running, with strong independent candidate Joe McGirr garnering support from disaffected voters.

The NSW Liberals even fear Labor could win the regional seat.

"It's going to be line ball," one Liberal strategist told the Telegraph on Thursday. "The arse has fallen out of our vote."