Alberta Election Thoughts Part Three: The Progressive Conservative secret to victory

There's a personal anecdote of mine that might in some small way explain Ed Stelmach's election win on Monday. As I previously alluded, I had only received Green Party literature. The NDP did not contact me.

The Liberals phoned me, asking if they could count on my support in the upcoming election. I was telling this story at work during the campaign, and one girl immediately said "you could just say no". I think we all know that I couldn't. I said something about how I'd rather every liberal in this province was lined up and shot, and the guy actually kept following the script! He asked what they could do to secure my vote. I was just hanging up, though I regret not mentioning that they could reverse their policies on abortion, homosexuality, private healthcare, royalty rates, and the government's role in the economy.

The PCs called me though, early in the campaign, and left a message because I wasn't home. Then they called a second time, and talked to me, and asked if I would support my candidate. After that they called me two days before the election to remind me to vote, and in the afternoon on election day called to ask if I had gotten around to vote yet. In other words, they put people on the ground, which is almost always the key to any election victory.

And that, in a nutshell, is why I believe the Tories beat expectations, and parties like the Wildrose Alliance fell short of what they were "supposed" to do.