It took just over 700 votes for John Kolk to capture the Little Bow PC nomination Saturday night.
Kolk took the nomination in the first place ballot count with 720 of the 1411 votes cast. He won five of the six polls across the Little Bow Riding. Henry Doeve, Deputy Reeve for the County of Lethbridge, collected 566 votes while Coaldale Mayor Kim Craig had 127.
“The numbers that came out were a little bigger than I expected,” said Kolk.
“The polls were very busy.”
Voting was reported to be very steady in Coaldale and Picture Butte throughout Saturday afternoon into the evening while polls in the northern part of the riding were reported to be slower.
Kolk had praise for his two opponents and the campaigns they ran in the nomination race.
“He did a lot of work,” he said of Craig’s campaign.
He praised Craig’s hard work throughout the race and added he showed himself to be a creditable mayor for the Town of Coaldale. He said Doeve’s team turned out an amazing amount of support for the PC party in the riding.
He also had praise for PC supporters who got out and fostered support for the party and for the three candidates.
“It’s got to say something,” he said of the over 1,400 voters who took part in Saturday’s vote.
He said Little Bow is a large and diverse riding and it was exciting for him to see the voter turnout.
“I think it’s exciting for Little Bow.”
With a new leader at the helm of the province and with an election coming up in the spring, Kolk said it's an exciting time for the PC party, as it renews itself.
Now with the nomination in hand, Kolk will switch his focus to preparing for the upcoming election with plans to begin campaigning as soon as the election is announced.
“We’re on the cusp of new opportunities in Alberta.”
He said he expects all of the parties seeking to represent Little Bow will be preparing now to put their visions forward for the region and the province.
Kolk said he is both humbled and excited by the outcome of Saturday's vote.
“You can’t do this by yourself.”
He said he appreciates the support he received and all the work that was done to sell memberships and encourage party members in the region to get out and vote.
The voter response Saturday also impressed Mayor Craig who said support for the PC party in Little Bow is very strong.
“There was good voter turnout.”
Given the low numbers that came out for the PC nomination in Lethbridge East, Craig said he was impressed with the supporters who voted Saturday across the Little Bow riding.
He congratulated both Kolk and Doeve for the good results they had in both their camps. He said both candidates ran strong campaigns.
“My hat’s off to both of them.”
By press time Doeve had not returned a request for a comment on the results.