Liberal Rex Hillier wins C.B.S. byelection

Rex Hillier is the newly electedMHAin Newfoundland and Labrador, after winning the Conception Bay South byelection for the Liberals on Wednesday night.

Elections Newfoundland and Labrador reported the Liberals winning with 2,102 votes, followed closely by the Tories with 2,026 votes, with the NDPgarnering 130 votes, after results from all 44 polls.

"Welcome to the Liberal district of Conception Bay South. We finally broke that Tory lock," Hillier said to a crowd at Liberal headquarters, after the results were in.

"Our goal is to change the government. We didn't achieve that today we reached a milestone, but we didn't change the government today," he said.

"In order to do that, those 60 volunteers, I'm asking you right now as we move forward, bring one person back with you when we get ready for the general election. Then we'll change the government."

Hillier added that he thinks winning a byelection in the district next to the premier's sends a message to the Tories.

Big gains from last election

Wednesday night's win is the fifth straight byelection that the Liberals have won four of them are seats that the PCs have lost.

Liberal Leader Dwight Ball said the results were an enormous increase from the last general election, when the partywas inthird place.

"In 2011, in this district, we were less than seven per cent. So three years later, of course, there's a win in this district," said Ball.

"Right now, I think premier Davis will have to go and try to identify what his strategy is. But for us, we're just taking byelections one at a time, as they come."

Tories 'not done,' Davis says

Barry Pettenwas seeking a win for the Progressive Conservatives. Hewas the executive assistant for Terry French, who was the MHA for the district until he resigned in September to pursue a job in the private sector.

"I poured everything I had, and then some, but it is what it is, the voters are never wrong," Petten said to a crowd of PC supporters after the results were in.

Premier Paul Davis and Petten arrived at the PC byelection headquarters after the unofficial results were in, and Davis told the crowd the party was "not done."

"We didn't get wiped out.This wasn't a clean sweep tonight this was a very close battle," said Davis.

"It was a close race, and we knew it was going to be a close race, and we knew that in recent days and recent weeks, we also ran into areas of some voter apathy where voters felt very strongly that Barry Petten was going to be a strong candidate and was going to win that, and we knew that we had to work to try and get some of those voters out."

Davis said there is still work to be done, andthe Tories are still the best party to govern the provinceadding that there are still two more byelection campaigns to run.

University student Cameron Mercer-Mailletwas on the ballot for the New Democrats, and earned 130 votes.

Special ballots had the Liberals ahead with 96 votes, followed by the PCs with 82 votes, and the NDP with five votes.

Davis told CBC News earlierthere is a lot at stake for him in this byelection which is being held in an area next door to his district of Topsail.He was a town councillor in C.B.S. for several years, and it is also the first byelection since he became premier in September.

The Tories have gotten at least 50 per cent of the vote in the district in every election in the last 18years, and the district has been represented byhigh-profile Tory cabinet ministers, including French, and his father, Bob French.

To check out all the latest developments in the byelection coverage, follow David Cochrane and Peter Cowan in the live blog below.

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