Todd Doherty will represent the Conservative Party in the Cariboo-Prince George riding in the 2015 federal election.
Doherty defeated former mayor Shari Green and Nick Fedorkiw in the race to fill the seat being vacated by longtime MP Dick Harris.
"It's incumbent on leadership... to turn our eyes outward and focus on others," Doherty said in an acceptance speech at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club. "We've got a lot of work to do. [And] we're just getting started."
Doherty thanked his family and supporters – including Harris and would-be candidate TJ Grewal who put his support behind Doherty after his nomination was rejected by the party.
Doherty won in the first count of the approximately 2,000 ballots – achieving a minimum of 50 per cent plus one vote support. The party did not release the results of the vote, other than to say Doherty won.
Had he not met the minimum threshold, a second count would have been necessary with the candidate who received the lowest number of votes being dropped off the list and their votes redistributed to their second choice on the ballot.
Riding association president Cameron Stolz said the voter turnout was about 80 per cent of party members eligible to vote – one of the highest for the party.
"We've seen an unprecedented turnout. That speaks to the quality of the candidates we have," Doherty said.
Doherty said he planned to hug his wife and children, have a good night's sleep and start thinking about how to win an election on Sunday.
Although Harris has held the riding for the Conservatives – and the Reform Party and Canadian Alliance before them – since 1993, Doherty said he isn't taking a victory in the upcoming election for granted.
"Let's give the other parties some credit. We have to be prepared," he said. "Is today a slam dunk for the election? No."
Green and Fedorkiw congratulated Doherty on his win.
"I'm proud of the clean campaign we ran," Green said.
Fedorkiw said he is disappointed he didn't win because "I thought I ran a great campaign."
"But I absolutely congratulate Todd. I know he'll be a great MP," he added.
Voting began on Friday in Quesnel and Williams Lake and ended at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in Prince George.
From about 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m while the votes were counted, several dozen party members waited on bleachers and milled around the lobby at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club near the room where the votes were being counted.
Music from a live band performing at a company Christmas party in the lounge next door lent the event a touch of a festive atmosphere. Doherty and Fedorkiw waited with supporters while the votes were counted, while Green arrived shortly before the final results were announced.
The voting procedure was overseen be a member of the federal Conservative Party.
The next federal election is slated for Oct. 19, 2015.
