Kent launches provincial election campaign
Says he’s confident in himself and his party
At the risk of contributing to election fatigue, Steve Kent officially launched his campaign Saturday afternoon in preparation for the Nov. 30 provincial election.
The deputy premier and MHA for Mount Pearl North told The Telegram from his campaign headquarters on Commonwealth Avenue that his team is always really well organized.
“We’ve got an overwhelming amount of support and volunteers and we’ve got our headquarters open as of today, and we’ll be working hard right until the finish line, taking absolutely nothing for granted,” he said during the launch, which included a community barbecue and a food drive.
As candidates enter the home stretch of a marathon campaign for the Oct. 19 federal election, Kent has already been knocking on doors and getting brochures out.
“I worry that people will suffer from election fatigue as a result of the two campaigns happening on top of one another. We really will kick into true high gear after the federal campaign, but we’re already up and running and getting things moving even in the meantime,” he said.
“In the few doors I’ve knocked on so far there’s a little bit of confusion about the two elections. Even a few citizens who dropped in today had questions about which elections I was running in, so it’s important to make the distinction and it’s important to let people know that I’m running in the provincial campaign on Nov. 30, and not the current federal one.”
He said he hasn’t heard of any other provincial campaigns being officially launched this way yet, and his campaign is gaining momentum.
The new electoral boundaries make this campaign exciting for him, he said.
“I’m unfortunately saying goodbye to some people who were in my district, but also saying hello to some people that I used to represent municipally, and also some people that live in Brookfield Plains and on Brookfield Road in St. John’s,” he said.
So far, Kent said he likes his chances of being reelected.
“I feel very good about the party’s chances as well, and I know that’s a minority view right now, but I can name for you — if I had a pen and paper, I could name for you close to 20 seats that I feel really, really confident we’re going to win, and there are another seven or eight where I feel we’ve got an excellent chance. So when I do the math, my math tells me that this race is going to be much, much closer than people think.
“When people look hard at the three leaders , I think more and more citizens of newfoundland and Labrador are going to choose Paul Davis. That’s my honest view and I think a lot of things will unfold,” he said.