HALIFAX, N.S. - It wasn’t the result he wanted, but Kings-North MLA John Lohr conceded that Tim Houston is the new leader of the PC party of Nova Scotia and that he would do what he can to support him.
Houston won the leadership following the first ballot, after Cecil Clarke, who was in second, conceded and threw his support behind Houston at the leadership convention in Halifax on Oct. 27.
Lohr said despite the results, he’s happy with how things went.
Tim Houston received 2,496.75 points during the first ballot, Clarke received 1,385.71, Lohr had 692.45, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin had 384.96 and Julie Chiasson had 140.13.
“I feel super about my campaign, obviously I wanted to win the race, but the party has spoken and I respect that,” Lohr said. “I have no regrets, we did everything we could.”
Lohr said he was in discussions with the other leadership hopefuls after the first ballot results came in, when it became clear that Houston would take the leadership, they all crossed the floor to support Houston.
It’s been a long campaign for the five leadership candidates, stretching out over 10 months, with debates across the province.
“The party and Tim need to get ready for the next election, and I’ll certainly do whatever he and the party wants me to do,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll still have the support of the residents of Kings-North.”
Lohr said he’s a fan of the new leader selection system, saying it lead to a record number of new members joining the party.
“I think Tim ran an extraordinarily good ground game, with very organized volunteers,” he said. “That was the key to his victory and that bodes well for the party.”
