Reported at www.theguardian.com: The moderate wing of the Australian Liberal party is expected to lose influence as Leah Blyth, with the backing of hard-right Senator Alex Antic, is likely to secure the Senate seat previously held by Simon Birmingham.

Blyth faces competition from moderate candidate Sam Hooper and unaligned candidate Henry Davis, but Antic’s factional support positions her as the frontrunner.

Antic’s rise as a factional heavyweight has reportedly led to efforts to recruit religious conservatives into the party, further solidifying the hard-right’s influence in South Australia.