Ben Stewart couldn't hold back tears as he announced he was giving up his seat in the legislature for Premier Christy Clark
(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)
February 15, 2018 - 8:30 AM
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - It was like old times for Ben Stewart yesterday, winning a comfortable majority of the popular vote in the Kelowna West by-election.
While not as dominant as during his last win in 2013, the local winemaker took 56.46 percent of the vote, according to Elections B.C. in the preliminary results posted on its website.
Kelowna West has proven a reliable Liberal riding since its creation in 2009 when Stewart was first elected MLA.
Stewart last won the riding in 2013 with 58.39 per cent of the vote, but then stepped aside for then-premier Christy Clark who posted an even better result in the subsequent by-election.
B.C. NDP candidate Shelley Cook came a distant second to Stewart last night with 23.47 per cent, mirroring the results of the 2017 election when she took 25.14 percent to then-premier Christy Clark’s 59.05 per cent.
Support for B.C. Green candidate Robert Stupka also reflected last year’s election results, when then-candidate Robert Mellalieu garnered 13.67 percent of the vote.
This time around, Stupka picked up 12.68 per cent while B.C. Conservative Mark Thompson took 6.59 per cent of votes in Kelowna West and Libertarian Party candidate Kyle Geronazzo took 0.81 percent.
The Liberal win takes away the two-seat majority enjoyed by the NDP/Green alliance since then-Premier Christy Clark resigned as premier and gave up her seat last August.
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