Quitting Leader and Premier, Steven Marshall, had held the position of leader from 2013 (9 years, 74 days), coming to the position following competitive, indecisive leadership contests.[9][10] He was subsequently one of the longest-serving leaders of the party.[11]
With the new composition of the State Parliament, the total number of MPs (parliamentary caucus) eligible to vote were twenty-four. These were sixteen Assembly members and eight Council members.
The first announced candidate for the leadership ballot was MacKillop MP Nick McBride on 21 March, two days after the election. Having almost quit the party a year prior, and only being in Parliament since 2018, the backbencher was considered the weakest candidate.[13] The next announced candidate was former House of Assembly Speaker and former Minister for Planning and Local Government, Josh Teague (Heysen).[14] Just days later the expected front-runner,[14] former Environment Minister and eight-year MPDavid Speirs, who had unsuccessfully run for Deputy Leader in 2021,[15] announced his candidacy.[16] He was the longest-serving MP of the announced candidates, and the youngest (36–38).