Branch members are working out their next steps after Saturday's election.

Those moves will shape upcoming state election campaigns and even the next federal tilt for Bendigo seats, a source said.

That source has been given anonymity to freely discuss internal party thinking during the transition out of the federal campaign and into state ones.

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The most obvious lesson is that the Liberals need to announce their candidates much earlier, the source said.

This year's federal election candidate, Darin Schade, was announced just weeks before the election was called.

The feedback from voters at pre-poll booths has made it clear many thought Mr Schade was parachuted into the seat from Melbourne, the source said.

While he has built much of his career in Melbourne and been president of the party's Toorak branch, Mr Schade grew up in Bendigo and runs an environmental education company in the area.

He is also a member of the Bendigo branch.

The source candidates should have six months to campaign.

"It's just the only way that you can take these types of seats seriously, and you can show voters you are taking them seriously," they said.

The source said people in Bendigo were not just "voting for ScoMo" or other national leaders.

"People in places like Bendigo do feel a little slighted if they don't get to know their candidate over a period of time," they said.

Local branch members expect to spend time examining how preferences flowed in Bendigo and other seats around the country.

It was still too early to tell on Saturday how much damage minor parties and independents had done to primary votes for the Liberals, Nationals and Labor.

That said, it was clear they had made inroads in multiple Liberal party seats.

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The source noted that any decisions for future campaigns would be made in consultation with the Liberal party's Melbourne campaign headquarters, though any changes would be led at a local level.

At a state level, the Liberal party already has a potential candidate for upcoming elections.

Mr Schade yesterday left the door open to a tilt for a Bendigo seat, at either the state or federal level.

"That's a question that I am going to have to directly address with the party," he said.

"But I have got a real passion for wanting to see change up here in Bendigo and this campaign has only made it stronger."

There are two state seats covering Bendigo. Both are held by Labor.

Jacinta Allan won Bendigo East with 62 per cent of the two party preferred vote in 2018, compared to her Liberal challenger.

Maree Edwards held Bendigo West by 68 per cent.

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