Labor has held Kogarah for 70 years, recent changes to electoral boundaries cut the party's margin down to an ultra-slim 0.1%.

Mr Minns will be able to count on the support of Athan Toskas, whose family-owned fish market in Hurstville is displaying large red signs featuring the face of the man who wants to be the next premier.

"Chris came up and helped us out with our 50-year anniversary, showed his support for the community and also all the shops in the [shopping] centre," Mr Toskas said.

"We're all backing him to win it. He's a down-to-earth bloke… you can't fault him. I definitely think he has what it takes to become premier."

Across the street, Joanne He's cafe is displaying posters for Liberal candidate Craig Chung, a former City of Sydney councillor who grew up in the area.

"[Craig] is from the same school as my boys. And it also seems like Liberal is more understanding of small business," she said.

The Liberal Party's chances at picking up Kogarah have improved thanks to a boundary re-draw which takes in more affluent waterfront suburbs along the Georges River.

There is also a high-profile independent in the race: Anti-gambling campaigner and whistleblower Troy Stolz is mounting a challenge and pressuring the Labor leader to go further on poker machine reform.

Rebuilding faith with the Chinese-Australian community

The electorate of Kogarah is highly multicultural, and more than 50 per cent of residents in the suburb of Hurstville are of Chinese descent.

Many shopfronts throughout Hurstville display bi-lingual campaign posters for Mr Minns and Mr Chung, although Ms He said both candidates should be judged on their policies rather than their cultural background.

"It doesn't really count. The main thing is that they really do something for us," she said.

Mr Minns nearly lost Kogarah in the 2019 election, with a 5 per cent swing against him being attributed to then-Labor leader Michael Daley's comments on immigration.

Video had emerged of Mr Daley saying Sydney jobs were being taken by foreigners "From, typically, Asia", comments for which he later apologised.

Patrick Lu — who runs a sporting goods shop in Hurstville and is a migrant from Hong Kong — was among those disappointed by the former leader's comments.

"I think respecting people who have come from other countries is important," Mr Luk said.

"If you can contribute to the community, I think everybody should have the right to be here."

Minns rules out switch to a safer seat

The Labor leader has not shied away from the challenge of holding on to Kogarah. Last week, he was asked about a newspaper poll that found more than half of respondents in the electorate did not recognise Mr Minns.

Mr Minns said he had not considered running in a safer seat to help secure his political future.

"Despite the fact that there's been a redistribution in the seat of Kogarah, I'd rather not be in parliament if I wasn't the member for Kogarah," Mr Minns said on Friday.

"I think it's a reminder for me, and my parliamentary colleagues, that this election will be close.

"It's very difficult for political parties to win office from opposition. I think since World War II, Labor's done it two or three times and that's it. So, we know we're up against it. We're going into this election campaign as the underdogs."

Economic concerns front of mind for Kogarah voters:

Mr Luk said that, while he hoped Mr Minns would be re-elected, both parties should focus on addressing crime and cost-of-living pressures.

"There's been many break-ins at retail shops," he said.

"I think from my guess is people are suffering from the cost of living, need to feel themselves, so that's one of the issues for Hurstville."

If Mr Minns is successful in becoming the 47th premier of New South Wales, some in his electorate hope he will not take his eye off local issues.

Allan Zreik — the president of the St George Business Chamber based in Hurstville — said small businesses would need more support during economic uncertainty.

"If Chris wins the election, well, we'll have a premier in our area, so that'll be good. We can push him harder," Mr Zreik said.

"He seems like he's a hard-working man. He's always available whenever the Chamber of Commerce tries to get in touch with Chris, and he's always walking around.

"Let's hope they do what's best for business, because we are struggling."

Some locals said they had never heard of Mr Minns, while others argued he was a visible and active MP.

Victor — who runs a hair salon in the suburb — said he was still undecided about which major party to vote for.

"I wish both of them good luck. [Chris Minns] seems like a good guy and I don't have a problem with the other guy," he said.

Original Story By | Gavin Coote