Campaign suspended as Dutton's flying visit to Calare takes a hit

His Holiness died at 7.35am on Easter Monday, April 21.

In a note on one of his social channels, Mr Dutton said Pope Francis served "God with the utmost devotion".

Mr Dutton is returning to Sydney where he will prepare for a debate with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday evening.

The man aspiring to be Australia's next prime minister, Mr Dutton touched down in Calare on Monday night and was expected to make an announcement alongside David Littleproud and Nationals candidate for Calare Sam Farraway. That is now likely later in the week.

Mr Dutton performed a few live television crosses at Robertson Park on Tuesday morning, but will travel to Sydney before lunch.

It's the first time the leader of the Liberal party has been in Calare since announcing Mount Piper, near Lithgow, as one of seven sites across the country to house a nuclear power plant. That announcement was made in June, 2024.

Mount Piper is slated to close as a coal-powered power station in 2040. Lithgow council has said it is against the move to nuclear power in the region.

The deputy leader of the coalition, Nationals boss David Littleproud, has visited Calare a number of times throughout the lead-up to the 2025 election.

He vowed to make Calare a priority seat for the Liberals-Nationals when he first visited Orange in July, 2023.

Pre-poll map: here are all the places in Calare you can go to cast your vote early. Pre-polling begins across the electorate on Tuesday.

It was a slow start for pre-polling in Orange, but candidates across the board expect things to really ramp up next week.

Both Mr Littleproud and Mr Farraway were at Orange's pre-polling station at St Barnabas Anglican Church on Tuesday morning.

Labor candidate Julie Cunningham was also there handing out how-to-vote cards while Independent candidate Kate Hook arrived around 9.45am.

Supporters for all other Calare hopefuls were also there.

The ballot paper order for Calare is as follows:

Results from an ACM survey in March revealed voters in Calare favour current PM Anthony Albanese to retain the top job.

Thirty-eight per cent of responders say they'd prefer Mr Albanese to be Australia's Prime Minister for another term, just ahead of Liberal leader Peter Dutton, who garnered 37 per cent of the vote.

While a quarter of the over 500 people who responded to the survey from Calare say they wish there was a different option altogether.

The voting intentions for Calare voters was also revealed in the survey, with people in Orange, Bathurst, Mudgee, Lithgow and Wellington more likely to vote for an independent than almost anywhere else in the country.

There were 549 responses from Calare voters, and 33 per cent of those who completed the survey say they'll vote for an independent at the looming federal election.