Rural vote saves Liberal bacon

Rural voters helped save Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal party from oblivion Tuesday night, even though the Torieshad significantly stronger returns in rural regions.

While the Liberals pulled only 19 per cent of the vote overall, they won six of the legislature's 48 districts - one seat ahead of the NDP, which tookmore than 24 per cent of the vote.

The Liberals, who campaigned on themes that arguedrural districts were left behind, did significantly better outside of St. John's than in the capital city. The Liberals had just six per cent of the vote in the 14 districts in metro St. John's, but picked up 31 per cent of the rural vote.

However, the governing Tories dominated the vote share on both sides of the purported urban-rural divide. While the Tories took 56 per cent of the overall vote, they picked up 54 per cent of the vote in districts outside St. John's.

John Efford, a former Liberal cabinet minister, said the party will need to focus its rebuilding efforts on appealing to St. John's voters.

Liberal candidate Danny Dumaresque, a former MHA,touched off an uproar during the campaignwhen he made comments perceived as an insult against St. John's.

"There are a hell of a lot more priorities outside the overpass that need to be addressed before we start forking more money over to the City of St. John's," Dumaresque told a St. John's Board of Trade debate. The comment drew sharp criticism from two St. John's Liberal candidates.