WA Labor State Secretary Patrick Gorman is expected to put his hand up to replace outgoing MP Tim Hammond as the party’s candidate for the seat of Perth in an upcoming by-election.

The West Australian understands Mr Gorman is the most likely candidate to stand for the seat, with an announcement expected soon.

Mr Gorman, who has been the party’s secretary since 2015, was responsible for the 2016 Federal campaign in WA, where the party picked up two seats, as well as last year’s State Election campaign, which saw Labor win 20 seats and returned to government.

Prior to taking on the top party role, Mr Gorman had worked a senior staffer for former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

Mr Hammond made the shock announcement this morning that he would resign from Parliament within weeks, causing a by-election.

The seat of Perth, which has been held by Mr Hammond since 2016, currently has a 3.3 per cent margin in Labor’s favour. It covers the suburbs of Noranda and Bassendean in the north, to the CBD in the south, and out to Mount Hawthorn in the west to Maylands in the east.