Calvin Peach earned a place in the history books Tuesday night, becoming the first Progressive Conservative candidate to win an election in Bellevue district.
The eastern Newfoundland district has been the model of a Liberal stronghold. Since its creation in 1975, voters in the district had never selected a Tory candidate.
Peach defeated Liberal Denise Pike, who had been considered one of the Liberals' best chances of winning a seat.
Unofficial results showed Peach, a one-time candidate for the NDP in southern Newfoundland, won by a 769-vote margin.
The race had been expected to be a close battle.
Bellevue was held by Percy Barrett for the last 18 years. However, it was a close race in 2003, with Barrett holding off his Tory challenger by only 100 votes.
In fact, the Liberals acknowledged that Bellevue, in eastern Newfoundland, would be tough to keep, and it was one of the districts where Liberal Leader Gerry Reid made sure to canvass.
Right from the start of the campaign, Peach and Pike were locked in a war of words.
Pike said her Tory opponent was turning her health problems into an election issue by talking on the campaign trail about her years-long battle with cancer.
Peach, however, insisted the matter was blown out of proportion and said he would never capitalize on Pike’s medical issues.
There are 7,649 eligible voters in the district.
| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 43 | 0 | 43 | 69.56% |
| LIB | 3 | 0 | 3 | 21.98% |
| NDP | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8.21% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .25% |
| Last Update:October 9, 10:58:12 PM NDT | ||||
| Unofficial results were updated at the time shown. For more recent results, visit Elections NL. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window. |
NL Votes 2007 »
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