It was a subdued room where local NDP supporters had gathered to take in the result from an election that presented the party's best chance in years to not only form the next government but deliver an MLA from Prince George.
What buzz was in the air evaporated a bit more than an hour after the polls had closed with the Liberals showing a clear lead, according to results trickling on the big screen televisions tuned into a major B.C. network.
The downfall was not for a lack of trying.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said she called about 700 people over the course of the campaign, all on her own dime.
"I just phoned everybody I knew, and every time I went out I would talk to people," she said. "I've been doing that for months now."
It was a similar comment from another, who said she talked to people about getting out to vote everywhere she went, including the supermarket.
"To the younger ones, I'd say 'go,go,go' and to the older ones, about my age, I would say I would not vote for a party that's been as bad as the Liberals."
But word of mouth appeared to go only so far in delivering votes to the NDP.
Even before the outcome started to become obvious, veteran NDP campaigner Chuck Fraser was not counting his chickens before they hatched.
"I phone called and I door knocked and there wasn't as much enthusiasm as I have, but I'm an activist," Fraser said.
He noted the gap narrowing in the polls and acknowledged Liberal leader Christy Clark's polish.
"Christy Clark is smooth...and she looks good on the air," Fraser said.
First time NDP campaigner Randy Raju called the outcome "a shock" made only worse by the commanding lead his party appeared to have at the start of the election period.
"It feels not good," he said. "It hits you in the face."
