Barnaby Joyce is confident he'll win preselection despite some National party members fearful there are skeletons in his closet.
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Every Nationals candidate for next year's federal election is being put under the microscope by the party, after the Section 44 crises saw dozen of MPs forced to resign from parliament.
Some party members are reportedly refusing to support Mr Joyce's preselection bid for his NSW seat of New England but the former leader says anonymous sources with vested interests are leaking the information to the media.
Mr Joyce was "very disappointed" the details of the closed-door vetting meeting were made public.
"They try to get at you on innuendo rather than fact," he told AAP on Wednesday.
The former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader stood down in February after it was revealed he had split with his wife and was having a baby with an ex-staffer.
Nationals federal president Larry Anthony expects Mr Joyce to successfully pass vetting for the seat when preselection occurs on November 17.
Australian Associated Press
