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Ridings to watch While polls and pundits are predicting an easy Tory win on Monday, there are still a number of ridings that could prove interesting to watch as the results roll in. Perhaps not surprisingly, most are in Edmonton, where eight of the nine opposition MLAs were elected in 2001 and where anti-government sentiment had the strongest voice during the campaign. Analysts say much depends on whether a tide of anti-Tory/anti-Klein backlash sweeps across the province, nudging the close races. Here is a look at some of the ridings where the races could be interesting: Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview Tory Julius Yankowski won this seat in the 2001 by about 1,400 votes. His main challenger is former NDP leader Ray Martin, who is now a school trustee. Voters in this riding have elected members from all three main parties over the past three decades. Yankowski was initially elected as a Liberal. Edmonton-Calder Brent Rathgeber won this seat for the Progressive Conservatives in 2001 by about 500 votes. However, NDP hopeful Dave Eggen, a teacher, has been knocking on doors in the riding for two years. Liberal candidate Brad Smith, who is using an RV as a campaign office, has the backing of his union - the Alberta Union of Public Employees. Voters in this riding have elected Tories, Liberals and New Democrats since 1971. Edmonton-Decore Liberal Bill Bonner was elected in the former riding of Edmonton-Glengarry by 69 votes. He isn't running this time. This riding pits Liberal Bill Bonko, a former school trustee, against the Tories' Walter Szwender, a former PC MLA. Gary Masyk, who was elected as Tory in 2001 and then decamped to the Alberta Alliance this summer, is also running here, after his old riding was eliminated in the redistribution. Edmonton-Ellerslie Debby Carlson won this seat for the Liberals in 2001, edging out her opponents by about 300 votes. She resigned earlier this year to make an unsuccessful federal run. The Liberal candidate is Bharat Agnihotri, a real estate agent, Gurnam Dodd, who works for Edmonton Transit, is running for the PCs, and Marilyn Assheton-Smith is the NDP candidate. Edmonton-Glenora Viewed by many as the tightest three-way race in the province, Tory incumbent Drew Hutton is challenged by Liberal Bruce Miller and the NDP's Larry Booi. Both opposition parties have targeted this riding with what they consider to be star candidates. Booi is the former head of the Alberta Teachers' Association who went head-to-head with the government many times and took his teachers out on a province-wide strike in 2002. Miller is a United Church minister and well-known in the community. Hutton won the riding by fewer than 200 votes in 2001. The biggest factor in this riding could be strategic voting - will the NDP and Liberals split the vote, or can one of them pull enough voters to beat Hutton. Edmonton-Manning Tory Tony Vandermeer won his seat by fewer than 400 votes in 2001, and is considered to have the lowest profile of all the PC MLAs. The Liberal candidate is Dan Backs, and the party held the riding before Vandermeer. Edmonton-McClung Mark Norris, touted as a PC leadership contender, beat former Liberal leader Nancy MacBeth for this seat in 2001. The Liberals would like to reclaim it, and are pinning their hopes on pharmacist Mo Elsalhy. Edmonton-Mill Woods Liberal Don Massey won this riding by about 500 votes in 2001, and he's not running this time. PC candidate Naresh Bhardwaj and Liberal candidate Weslyn Mather are battling for the seat - and in a twist, they both work at J. Percy Page School, where he is a teacher and she is an assistant principal. Edmonton-Rutherford Tory Ian McClelland, a former Reform MP, won in 2001 by about 600 votes. His main challenger, as it was in the last election, is expected to be Liberal Rick Miller. The Liberals are hoping Alberta Alliance candidate Bob Ewart can pull enough votes from McClelland to allow Miller to slip by. Lethbridge-East Former Liberal leader Ken Nicol comfortably held this riding - the only opposition seat outside of Edmonton - but the prevailing thinking is that most people voted for Nicol, not the party he represented. Nicol stepped down last spring to launch an unsuccessful federal run. Former Lethbridge alderman Bridget Pastoor is hoping to take his place, while lawyer Rod Fong is hoping to put it in the PC column. Calgary-Currie Few expect the Tories to lose any seats in Calgary. However, Calgary-Currie could be interesting to watch. Tory Jon Lord won the seat in 2001 by more than 2,000 votes, and the riding hasn't voted for anyone other than a Conservative since 1971. The Liberals are running Dave Taylor, a radio talk show host, against him. Calgary-Buffalo PC Harvey Cenaiko won this seat by more than 1,500 votes in 2001. However, the riding had been Liberal for 15 years before that. The Liberals are running lawyer Terry Taylor, son of former leader Nick Taylor. As well, the riding has a large number of renters, and a more transient population makes it more difficult to predict. Calgary-Mountain View Mark Hlady won this seat for the Conservatives by more than 4,000 votes in 2001. But Liberal David Swann has some name recognition as the medical officer of health fired for his pro-Kyoto stance. And before Hlady's first win in 1993, the riding had belonged to the NDP. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window.