Against the odds

The CP reports on two of the candidates fighting campaigns against party leaders, including the NDP's candidate running against Stephen Harper:

In 2004, the previous NDP candidate trailed Harper by more than 32,000 votes.

But (NDP candidate Holly) Heffernan, a nurse who was first recruited by the NDP to run in the 2004 Alberta provincial election, brings a hearty sense of humour and unflagging optimism to the doors she knocks on.

"I get 'Go for it!' and 'Kick some Conservative butt!' and I also get - well, they just look at you and laugh. I get a lot of that," Heffernan admits...

With 30 years of experience in the health-care system, Heffernan agreed to run so she can warn voters about the dangers of increasing privatization - something only the NDP has flatly rejected.

The article notes that neither Heffernan nor the other candidate discussed (the Cons' challenger to PMPM) is able to get away from work for all of the campaign, making the odds all the more difficult. But a candidate can do plenty of good for a party merely by doing well as an also-ran - particularly when that candidate presents as strong an issue-based message as Heffernan.

Kudos to her for her efforts in the campaign, and hopefully she and many of the other NDP longshots around the country can at win at least enough votes to make even the top Libs and Cons know they can't take their seats for granted.