Alice Springs deputy mayor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has rejected criticism she is "cannibalising" her own by running in the Country Liberal Party's Senate preselection race.
Ms Price confirmed she has nominated for the CLP's Senate preselection battle, which will take place later this month.
Her competitors will include sitting senator Sam McMahon and Northern Territory Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro's outgoing chief of staff, Tim Dixon.
"For me, this isn't personal; it's an opportunity to represent the Northern Territory," Ms Price said.
"I don't think it's divisive. It's a democratic process — everyone who's ever stood for preselection in any seat knows what's involved.
"You do have to compete against your party members."
Ms Price was the CLP candidate for Lingiari in the 2019 federal election, a lower house seat covering most of the NT outside of Darwin, but lost to Labor MP Warren Snowdon, who is retiring at the next election.
She said she would prefer to run for the Senate rather than re-contest Lingiari or run in the NT's other lower house seat, Solomon, because it allowed her to represent the entire Northern Territory.
Ms Price said she also had support from both Liberal and National Party members within the Coalition.
"I've been told by many members of parliament, whether that's in the Territory or federally, that they find it difficult as non-Indigenous representatives to be able to tackle Indigenous issues because they're often shut down and told they can't express their views," Ms Price said.
The NT's two Senate seats have been occupied by one Labor senator and one CLP senator since they were established in the 1970s.
Ms McMahon said Ms Price should be putting her name forward for a lower house seat in the next federal election instead.
"I believe they are very winnable and we should be putting all our strength and energies into that, rather than taking on our own people."
Ms McMahon said she had "100 per cent" support from her Nationals colleagues.
Country Liberal Party president Jamie DeBrenni said while he could not verify who had nominated for pre-selection, he was heartened by the information released publicly so far.
"They all look like they've got the capacity, the capability and the desire to do the job."
The CLP closed its preselection nomination process on May 14 and the party will make a final decision at a meeting in Darwin on June 26.
Labor's Malarndirri McCarthy, who holds the second NT Senate seat, will also be putting her name forward again for preselection but Labor has not confirmed when it will finalise its senate preselection process.
The parliamentary terms for the NT's Senate seats expire before the next federal election.
