Ahead of the next federal election, the 67 preselectors in the Liberal Party's state branch will decide on the order of the ticket at Campbell Town on Saturday.

Senator Askew, who is one of three Tasmanian Liberal senators up for re-election in 2022, filled a casual vacancy in the Senate two years ago, after the resignation of her brother David Bushby.

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While she will hope to be afforded a favourable position on the ticket, she faces stiff competition. Firstly, there is Senator Eric Abetz, a party powerbroker with huge influence over the state branch. And then there is Jonathon Duniam, the Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries and a former staffer in Senator Abetz's office, who is seen as a rising star.

Liberal sources with knowledge of the situation say Senator Askew is all but certain to be given the third spot, and that the fight for number one will be a close contest between senators Abetz and Duniam.

A supporter of Senator Abetz said the make-up of the party's preselection committee - which is elected annually via plebiscite - may favour the 63-year-old.

"I think many of the membership, even the ones that haven't always necessarily 100 per cent agreed with [Senator Abetz], have always given him respect as somebody who will put the hours in and put the work in," the source said.

"The question isn't how many years have you been on this earth, how many years have you been in the parliament. It's whether or not you've still got the energy to do the role. And he's proven that he's not slowing down.

"Johnno's been an effective assistant minister and Wendy has the geographic factors that play into her benefit, being that she's the only one from the North."

One senior Liberal said the preselectors would make their decision based on merit rather than gender.

"My view is that number one on the ticket should go to the senior Liberal from Tasmania and the senior Liberal is Senator Duniam," he said. "No arguments with that."

The source said the race for the number one spot between the two conservative male senators was "very, very tight", partly due to the fact that there was "a lot of crossover" among those who supported them.

"Senator Abetz, in previous preselections, has argued consistently that number one should go to the most senior person in the party. That was when he was the most senior. He's now not the most senior.

"He may seek to redefine what senior is but, I think, in fairness, assistant minister in the ministry is more senior than [27] years in the Senate."

The source said that because Bridget Archer was now the member for Bass and Claire Chandler was a senator, there was "less pressure" to elevate Senator Askew up the ticket by virtue of her being the only Liberal woman. But political analyst Kevin Bonham said bumping the senator would attract criticism.

"The [Tasmanian Liberals] have improved their stocks of female federal MPs in Tasmania somewhat, which they have a history of having very few of," he said. "I don't think that the gender issue is going to be a major issue for the preselectors."

Dr Bonham said the third spot on the ticket wouldn't necessarily be unwinnable, because Senator Jacqui Lambie wasn't up for reelection this time around, which would mean that one of the two major parties could realistically pick up an additional seat.

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