Brandon – Two years since the party lost Brandon West by the narrowest of margins, it appears as if the provincial New Democratic Party could recapture its former seat in the Wheat City if a provincial election were held today.

A Probe Research poll conducted exclusively for the Brandon Sun reveals that the governing NDP leads the rival Progressive Conservative Party throughout Brandon. The NDP, which currently holds one of the city’s two seats in the Manitoba Legislature, is supported by 45 percent of decided voters city-wide. The Progressive Conservatives, whose MLA Rick Borotsik wrested Brandon West from NDP cabinet minister Scott Smith in the 2007 provincial election, enjoy the support of one in three Brandon adults (33%). Twelve percent of decided voters would cast a ballot for a Manitoba Liberal Party candidate, while a slightly smaller proportion (10%) support parties that are not represented in the Legislature. Thirteen percent of voters were undecided.

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Labels: Brandon politics, Manitoba Liberal Party, NDP, Probe Research, Progressive Conservative Party

Brandon – As a municipal election approaches in 2010, incumbent Brandon Mayor Dave Burgess is well-positioned to win a third term based on the results of a Probe Research Inc. survey conducted exclusively for the Brandon Sun.

Probe Research presented 400 Brandon residents with a hypothetical ballot for the 2010 mayoral race that included the incumbent mayor and declared challengers Shari Decter Hirst and Deborah Boschman. Probe Research also added another potential challenger, local businessman and former city councillor Don Kille, to the hypothetical mayoral ballot to see how the race might be affected if he decided to throw his hat into the ring. To see how voter preferences might shift in the event that one of these candidates does not run, Probe Research also asked Brandon voters to provide their second choice for mayor.

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Labels: 2010 municipal election, Brandon politics, Probe Research