The preselection process in the Victorian branch of the Labor Party had been taken over by the Labor Party National Executive in June 2020 until 2023 as a result of branch-stacking allegations within the party. Voting rights of all members were suspended and candidates would be chosen by the National Executive.[52] In early March 2022, the Labor Senate ticket for Victoria for the May federal election had still not yet been decided. It was reported that Senators Kimberley Kitching and Kim Carr might face preselection challenges and could lose preselection for the Senate ticket in the election.[53] Kitching died from a heart attack a week later, and Carr later decided to retire from the election.