CLARENVILLE, N.L. — It seemed to start out well, but by the end of Thursday night Liberal incumbent Colin Holloway was conceding defeat to PC Lloyd Parrott.
At the Clarenville Inn, where Holloway’s supporters were gathered to watch the results, the room was quiet and tense as an early lead for Holloway began to shrink and the tide began to turn.
In another room in Clarenville, the mood was jubilation in Lloyd Parrot’s campaign office as the district eventually turned blue.
The Liberal supporters at the Clarenville Inn were decidedly nervous as each of the polls turned Holloway’s initial lead to a deficit.
Parrott, however, was anything but.
In fact, Parrott told The Packet he was confident in the result all throughout the campaign.
“It’s exactly what we expected,” said Parrott.
He says he expected tight races in the smaller communities in the district, with more support in larger centres.
He says the success came as people got to know him.
“We played fair the whole way through. I believe I’m the best candidate and I think a lot of people in the district feel the same way.”
He thanked his team for throughout the campaign, including those in each community—as well as his family.
Despite the disorganization of the quick election campaign in general, Parrott says the tough road is over and he plans on working hard for his constituents.
“We will be successful.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Packet before the last polls were counted, Holloway held out hope until the very last polling stations was accounted for.
He says he considered himself to be a hard-working and accessible MHA for the past three-and-a-half years. Despite his remaining hope going into the very last poll in the Clarenville area of the district he eventually had to concede.
“They say the voter is never wrong, so I guess the people of the Terra Nova district wanted something different or someone different than me — so I wish them well,” he said in a telephone interview.
The third candidate in the district election was Barry Moores of the NL Alliance.
When the final polls were tallied, Moores managed to garner 499 votes.
Parrott collected 2,876, and Holloway 2,595.
Twitter: @jejparsons
