And with the contest for the north-western Sydney seat in the upper house a fight between two Davids Elliott and Clarke, it was a safe bet.

There was another hat in the ring, Brett Murray a motivational speaker and one-time Liberal party candidate for the state seat of Wentworthville.

But he was never an option.

Four hours later, Murray walked out, having gained four votes.

The 90-odd preselectors listened intently as the sitting MLC, David Clarke, 63, the leader of the so-called Christian Hard Right staked his claim to another eight years on the public purse across two Parliaments after the March 2011 elections.

His ``soft'' Right rival, David Elliott, 48, was backed by the federal MP for Mitchell, Alex Hawke, a former staffer of Clarke's and now Clarke's implacable rival.

In the end, the biggest loser was Hawke when Elliott went down devastatingly and unexpectedly to Clarke, by 50 to 36 votes.

The leader of the Left, Michael Photios's faction supported Clarke, the biggest enemy of left-wing politicians, many of whom have lost their jobs to right-wing factional branch stacking.

Later, Clarke spoke of his support for a unified team that would win the next election, but Elliott was clearly gutted, his supporters saying he was betrayed by the Left.