Liberal party officials will choose former Premier Ted Baillieu's replacement for the plum seat of Hawthorn at a meeting next week.
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The administrative committee of the Victorian Liberal Party met on Monday night and decided that it would meet again on September 4 to pick the candidate for the party.
In a surprise announcement Mr Baillieu announced last Friday that he would not contest the November 29 election.
State Director Damien Mantach said nominations for the spot would close at midday next Tuesday.
Premier Denis Napthine's legal counsel John Pesutto and Institute of Public Affairs director John Roskam have emerged as frontrunners for the safe seat.
Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge on Monday refused to rule out a tilt at the seat. She has been preselected for an upper house seat after her seat was abolished and a preselection push in Kew failed.
The committee on Monday night also picked 31-year-old Ballarat Mayor Joshua Morris as the new candidate for the Western Region upper house spot after the original candidate, Aaron Lane, stood aside following revelations of homophobic and crude posts on social media.
