Former health minister Peter Malinauskas looks set to replace Jay Weatherill as leader of the South Australian Labor Party, but a formal appointment will take more than two weeks.
The Labor caucus will meet to make a decision on April 9 - more than two weeks after the LNP government's new cabinet was sworn in.
Mr Malinauskas nominated for the position on Thursday and said he will spend the coming days in discussions with parliamentary colleagues.
"Despite the obvious disappointment of losing government, the future for our party and movement is bright," he said in a statement.
The 37-year-old is widely tipped to win the support of the party after former treasurer Tom Koutsantonis, another frontrunner, ruled himself out of contention earlier in the week.
He would take over from Mr Weatherill, the former premier, who announced he would step down from the leadership following Labor's defeat at the state election.
Mr Malinauskas, a former shop assistants' union chief, moved from the upper house to the safe western Adelaide seat of Croydon at the election.
His deputy would likely be Susan Close, who nominated herself for the role on Thursday and said she supported Mr Malinauskas in his bid for the leadership.
Australian Associated Press
