Basic, a former staffer to Liberal MP Nicolle Flint, defeated Davis 132 votes to 90 in a ballot of local Liberal Party members on Saturday afternoon.

He will now take on Independent MP Rebekha Sharkie at the next federal election.

Sharkie has held the former blue-ribbon Liberal seat since 2016 and intends to run again. Her margin over the Liberal Party increased to 12.3 per cent at the last election.

Basic was backed by conservative senator Alex Antic and his preselection in Mayo marks another victory for the Right faction as it continues to exert power within the Liberal Party’s internal machinery.

Zane Basic (right) with New York City Council Republican leader Joe Borelli. Photo: Twitter

The Right was confident Basic would come out on top after the faction won a “clean sweep” of office bearer positions within the Mayo Federal Electorate Convention (FEC) at its annual general meeting earlier this year.

Basic, a former construction labourer, is currently a senior adviser to Queensland MP and federal Opposition whip Bert van Manen, splitting time between Adelaide and Canberra.

Prior to that, he worked for Flint, a Right faction stalwart, and state MP Terry Stephens.

He has previously been linked with a run for Boothby, where he is president of the local FEC. He also managed Right faction colleague Alex Hyde’s unsuccessful campaign for the state seat of Waite at the 2022 state election.

In a statement after the preselection, Basic said: “I am excited about the opportunity to campaign on the issues that the people of Mayo care about and am looking forward to speaking to as many residents as possible in the months ahead.

“Whether you live on Kangaroo Island or in Mclaren Vale, on the Fleurieu Peninsula or in the Adelaide Hills, our community is facing serious challenges such as the soaring cost of living and lack of adequate public infrastructure locally,” he said.

New state Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia was in attendance for the preselection ballot. Photo: Facebook

“The Coalition has a plan to get Australia back on track and I would be honoured to represent Mayo residents in the Federal Parliament to deliver better outcomes for the community.”

Davis, who had been flagging his intention to run in Mayo since October last year, said running for preselection “was a great experience and Zane came out on top and congratulations to him”.

“I think we’re lucky to be in a democratic party and I congratulate Zane on his election,” Davis said.

Councillor Henry Davis. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

“I believe that Mayo is absolutely winnable. I believe that the Liberal Party will win against Rebekha Sharkie at the next election, and I will be with Zane campaigning by his side to ensure that the Liberals win Mayo at the next federal election.”

Davis, a tax lawyer currently living in Aldgate, was elected councillor for Adelaide City Council’s South Ward in November 2022.

Asked whether he would explore preselection for another seat, Davis said: “I’m very young. I believe I have a long future ahead of me, but over the next six months, I’ll be supporting Zane and his campaign.”