The road to 7501

Following up on last night's post, here's a little food for thought as to what kind of voting coalition a Saskatchewan NDP leadership contender will need to assemble to win 50%+1 in a race with 15,000 votes.

2001 Leadership Vote
10,289: Final ballot votes for victor Lorne Calvert
7,575: Final ballot votes for second-place finisher Chris Axworthy
7,579: First ballot vote total for Nettie Wiebe, Maynard Sonntag, Scott Banda, Joanne Crofford and Buckley Belanger - all the candidates eliminated before the final ballot

Federal electoral results - 2008
11,913 - votes for Nettie Wiebe in Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar
10,870 - votes for Don Mitchell in Palliser
6 - number of other ridings where the NDP topped 7,500 votes
7,727 - combined NDP vote total in its two lowest-ranking ridings

Provincial electoral results - 2007
8,352: Total NDP votes in Regina Elphinstone-Centre (the last riding represented by Dwain Lingenfelter) and Regina Douglas Park (mooted as one possible destination for Lingenfelter)
7,934: Total votes for Deb Higgins and Yens Pedersen
7,864: Total NDP votes in its six weakest provincial constituencies by total votes. At the bottom of the list is Cypress Hills at 1,129 - which includes the Shaunavon riding which Lingenfelter once held
9,128: Total Green Party votes

Municipal electoral results
13,539: Saskatoon mayoral votes for Lenore Swystun in 2006 (with Jim Maddin also receiving over 5,000 votes)
7,401: Regina mayoral votes for Jim Holmes in 2006

Of course, the latter three lists are somewhat different in that voters don't have to be party members. But it would seem clear that there are an awful lot of different ways for any leadership contestant to reach what looks to be the total required to win the leadership race.