THE Hunter has been rocked by state political scandal in recent years.
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The Liberal-National Coalition won the 2011 election in a landslide victory, with the Labor Party losing more than half its seats.
Allegations of illegal donations from property developers at the Independent Commission Against Corruption have dogged the O'Farrell/Baird government.
The Labor Party will be looking to take advantage of recent events and claw back some of the seats it lost at the last election.
This month Newcastle and Lake Macquarie residents will head back to polls, some just months after the Newcastle and Charlestown byelections that occurred when the local MPs resigned from office. Others might find themselves in a new electorate, with many boundary changes since the 2011 election.
Sate election March 2015: current state of play
NEWCASTLE
Just four months after being elected, Labor's Tim Crakanthorp will be fighting to hold on to the seat of Newcastle, tipped to be one of the key battles in the March election.
In 2011 Tim Owen won the seat for the Liberal Party for the first time.
But Mr Owen resigned late last year after ICAC heard he accepted developer donations to fund his 2011 campaign.
The Liberal Party failed to contest the seat at the October byelection but have since endorsed former independent Karen Howard to run in March.
Since the 2011 election, the boundaries of the Newcastle seat have changed slightly, with parts of Lambton, Waratah and Adamstown now in other electorates.
WALLSEND
Wallsend MP Labor's Sonia Hornery has held a firm grip on her seat since taking it over in 2007.
In 2011 she suffered an 11.5 per cent swing of primary votes away from her, but still managed to obtain almost 60 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.
The seat has always been in the hands of Labor.
A redistribution of boundary changes could see the Labor margin slip slightly, with minor changes along the Charlestown and Lake Macquarie boundaries.
PORT STEPHENS
Craig Baumann is retiring from the seat of Port Stephens, opening the door for a fresh face for the region in 2015.
Mr Baumann was one of several Liberal members mentioned in last year's ICAC hearings into political donations, which resulted in many sitting members step down from their elected positions or joining the crossbenches.
Mr Baumann moved to the crossbench late last year after admitting that he failed to accurately declare nearly $80,000 in donations to his 2007 campaign.
He did not receive endorsement from the Liberal Party to contest the seat this year.
Port Stephens included the suburbs of Mayfield West and Sandgate in 2011, with the boundary now moved closer to Hexham.
CHARLESTOWN
A lot has changed since Andrew Cornwell convincingly won the seat of Charlestown for the Liberal Party at the 2011 election.
He resigned from parliament in 2014, after ICAC heard he accepted banned developer donations in the lead-up to the 2011 election.
Lake Macquarie mayor Jodie Harrison now sits in the seat after the October byelection saw voters swing back to Labor.
The Liberal Party decided not to contest the seat in October.
However, a local councillor, Jason Pauling, has now been endorsed to run against Ms Harrison.
LAKE MACQUARIE
Independent Greg Piper took full advantage of Labor's woes at the 2011 election, his vote increasing to almost 65 per cent after the distribution of preferences.
A redistribution of boundaries means the seat will lose a large rural area of Wyong, significantly reducing the geographical size of the electorate.
A likely two-horse race between the independent and Labor is on the cards again in 2015.
SWANSEA
The seat of Swansea was one the closest races at the 2011 state election, with the Liberal party's Garry Edwards edging out sitting member Robert Coombs by the slightest of margins.
Mr Edwards will re-contest the seat this election, but will run as independent after becoming involved in the ICAC developer donations inquiry last year.
ICAC heard Mr Edwards had received developer donations, and he was denied endorsement from the Liberal Party.
Redhead no longer sits within the Swansea boundaries for the 2015 election, with the electorate picking up the Central Coast suburb of San Remo.
CESSNOCK
Labor's Clayton Barr looks almost certain to hold on to the seat of Cessnock.
Last month Angry Anderson withdrew from the contest as the National Party candidate, and was replaced by Jessica Price-Purnell.
Mr Barr held onto the seat for Labor at the last election, despite a 20 per cent primary vote swing against the party.
Boundary changes since the last election mean Beresfield and Tarro no longer sit in the Cessnock electorate, moving into the seat of Wallsend.
■ Over the next three weeks The Star will run profiles on all candidates running locally in the state election.
If you plan to run in the seat of Newcastle, Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Charlestown, Swansea or Wallsend, feel free to email The Star via thestarnews@fairfaxmedia.com.au.