The conservatives in Australia's most cashed-up state can get off the canvas after a thumping at the last election, but they face another four years in opposition.
A Newspoll published by The Australian newspaper on Friday had Labor ahead of the Liberals 56-44 on a two-party preferred basis - a swing of almost 14 per cent from the 2021 election.
If replicated across Western Australia, it would hand the Liberals a further 12 seats but still leave them facing a third-consecutive landslide defeat.
Former premier Colin Barnett says his party had a "very high mountain to climb" to win office and "a credible result would be to win back a further 10 seats" giving it 13.
"That would be about a 10 per cent swing, which I think is very much achievable," he told AAP on Friday.
"It would take a significantly bigger swing, probably a 20 per cent swing or so, to get anywhere near getting into government.
"So it's a recovery operation for the Liberal Party."
Mr Barnett said winning 10 to 15 seats at the March 8 state poll would allow the WA Liberals to become a "formidable opposition".
"And very much in the game to win the election in 2029."
The Liberals and the Nationals have just three lower house seats each to the Labor government's 53 after an unprecedented landslide victory in 2021.
Mr Barnett said it was an unusual election based on then-premier Mark McGowan's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state's closed border policy.
He said many traditional WA Liberal voters also used the state poll to express their dissatisfaction with the Morrison government over its opposition to WA's pandemic response and its handling of various issues.
These included Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, former attorney general Christian Porter and former prime minister Scott Morrison appointing himself to multiple ministerial roles, along with his support for businessman Clive Palmer's legal challenge against the WA border closure.
"Generally not a period of good behaviour or publicity coming out of the Liberal government in Canberra," Mr Barnett said.
The upcoming state election was also likely to be impacted by voters' opinions about the current federal government, Mr Barnett said.
He said WA was a mining and agriculture state and the Albanese government's nature-positive laws and the live sheep export ban had not gone down well with voters.
"A lot of people will vote Liberal because they're very dissatisfied with (Prime Minister) Anthony Albanese in particular, and federal government, and that's perhaps not understood that well on the east coast," he said.
One of the candidates is television presenter and Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas who is running in the former safe Liberal seat of Churchlands.
WA Premier Roger Cook has targeted Mr Zempilas over various issues, including using his mayoral social media account to promote his WA election campaign.
Mr Barnett said the Labor government was scared of Mr Zempilas's potential in parliament.
"Basil is an outstanding candidate and I very much hope he will win Churchlands," he said.
"He will be a very powerful and effective member of parliament and I think that explains why the Labor Party are putting so much attention on him because they're afraid of him."
