In the leadup to the 2008 state election, Radisich sought preselection for the new seat of West Swan, a safer seat for Labor than the more marginal Swan Hills. However, after reports stating that she would likely lose in any preselection contest for West Swan to Rita Saffioti, the chief of staff to Premier Alan Carpenter, she announced that she would retire from politics at the next election. Radisich expressed a desire to pursue other ambitions, including post-graduate study and public policy interests at a Federal level. Graham Giffard, a then-sitting MLC, won Labor Party pre-selection for Swan Hills and lost the seat to the Liberal candidate Frank Alban in the 2008 election.