The announcement was made to a full house of party members, 385 of which were eligible to vote in the ballot.

Mr Gee was the hot favourite going into preselection, with betting agency Sportsbet placing his odds at $1.45 on Friday afternoon to trounce his opposition.

The new federal candidate said he felt "very humbled, exhausted and relieved" to be selected by members.

"All of the candidates have fought hard to get their agendas in front of party members and I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to be elected as the candidate today," Mr Gee said.

"Preselections are very gruelling and they take a toll on all candidates and their families, and so I think it is important to acknowledge the amount of work all of the candidates put in, not only today, but over the last eight or nine weeks."

Mr Gee will replace sitting member John Cobb as The Nationals’ candidate for Calare when he retires before the federal election on July 2.

The Nationals Calare Federal Electorate Council chairman Brett Kenworthy said the electorate has chosen a good candidate going into the next election.

“The support [for Mr Gee] was absolute,” he said.

With Mr Gee  opting to try his luck in federal politics, a by-election will be needed to find a replacement member for the state seat of  Orange. 

In March, a spokesperson for the NSW Electoral Commission said it would be hard to predict the cost of a by-election, but suggested the figure could be $450,000 for taxpayers. 

Mr Gee acknowledged the cost would be high, but said he was committed to ensuring there would be great returns for the people. 

"I was heartened by the fact that the Orange Ratepayers Association said that they believe that any cost of a by-election would be far outweighed by the benefits that we could get for the seat of Calare," he said.

"So, I'm going to make sure that if I'm elected as the federal member for Calare, we are going to make sure that Calare gets everything it's entitled to, in terms of services, infrastructure and polices for the people of Calare." 

Mr Gee has singled out roads, water security and the future of jobs in the Central West as his priorities if  The Nationals maintain their hold on Calare, as expected.