They are lawyer and grazier Kevin Henshaw, businessman Marc Minor, MLC Melinda Pavey, and Port Macquarie-Hastings councillor and businessman Adam Roberts.

There could be other candidates before Oxley preselection nominations close on November 14.

It follows Oxley MP and former Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner's shock announcement to leave politics at the state election, saying it is time to put his family first.

Mr Henshaw said he wanted to ensure the Oxley electorate had strong representation and to stop the drain of services and infrastructure to Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie.

"I bring my life skills as a lawyer and former police officer, and I bring my knowledge of the local area and my knowledge of the issues in the local area, having lived in the electorate all my life," he said.

Mr Henshaw said he would be speaking with party members within the electorate to gauge their issues and see how he could promote their views and needs.

Mr Minor, the Wauchope Thunder coach, former head coach of Port Macquarie Pirates and former Mudgee Shire councillor, has been a real estate principal of his own business for 12 years.

Mr Minor said there was a need for a continued, real, personal representation for the constituents of Oxley.

"My goal is to represent all the people of the Oxley electorate ... to provide them with someone who will carry their voices individually and collectively to the halls of government," he said.

Meanwhile, Mrs Pavey said she was committed to continuing Mr Stoner's good work and pointed to her 12 years' experience for The Nationals in the upper house.

"In me, you will have someone who is not on their training wheels," she said.

"It [Oxley electorate] has a lot of issues in terms of supporting industry and jobs, and in terms of the socio-economic issues many in the community face but it is a community that is harnessing its potential and I want to be part of that."

Cr Roberts, a business owner, was elected to Port Macquarie-Hastings Council in 2012.

The councillor said he had grown as an individual over the past two years on the council and the experience had given him the confidence to approach this opportunity in the right frame of mind.

"A MP's role certainly appeals to me from a number of points of view because of its strategic focus and its broad focus," the former deputy mayor said.

A nomination committee will consider the nominees to determine if they are appropriate to proceed to preselection.

Preselection candidates need to have been party members for 12 months but the Central Council can waive that rule.

All Nationals' members on the Oxley electoral roll are eligible to vote in the December 13 preselection.

lisa.tisdell@fairfaxmedia.com.au