The MPP for Bruce Grey Owen Sound is surprised at the outcome of the race for the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives.
Bill Murdoch says he thought leadership candidate Christine Elliott would have had a much better showing.
Elliott came in third, while the race was won by Tim Hudak, who closest rival throughout the day was two-time leadership hopeful Frank Klees.
Murdoch says he was really surprised by Klees’s strong showing and thought it would have come down to Elliott and Hudak.
Elliott was Murdoch’s first choice and he says he is disappointed that she did not win.
But Murdoch says now that the leadership race is over, the party must get to work preparing for the next provincial election in 2011.
He says Hudak will have a lot of work ahead of him trying to unify the party and bring over the members who didn’t vote for him.
Murdoch says after all the excitement of being turfed out of the caucus for criticizing former leader John Tory and then being invited back in by interim leader Bob Runciman, he’s decided to keep in a holding position for now.
He says he is willing to give Hudak a fair chance, although he says they have had some past issues they will need to work out.
Hudak is an MPP from the Niagara area and says he understands rural issues because he comes from that region.
Murdoch says we’ll just have to wait and see on that, and make sure other rural area MPPs keep on top of the new leader to make sure their ridings aren’t forgotten.
Like Murdoch, all four leadership hopefuls were against the Liberal plan to merge the GST and PST.
Murdoch says the issue that decided this race was preparedness.
He says Hudak has been campaigning for this for two years and was able to maintain his head start against his rivals, getting his name out there and getting the backing of some prominent Tories.
The fourth candidate was right-wing rookie Randy Hillier who finished last and told his supporters to back Hudak as their second choice.