It was a teary-eyed, successful Saskatchewan Party candidate who thanked his campaign workers and made a special call to his mom Monday night to tell her he'd won the Battlefords constituency election.
Up against incumbent and former health minister Len Taylor, Herb Cox scored buoyant numbers as the polls came in to the committee rooms on 100th Street in North Battleford. Only two of the approximately 30 polls reporting showed a lead for anyone but Cox and cheers went up from his supporters as the numbers were displayed.
"The constituents of the Battlefords have clearly expressed their opinion of the Brad Wall Saskatchewan Party government over the last four years and the confidence they put in them, and us, now, for the next four years," he said as the victory was made official.
"On a local level, the people told us when we were talking to them on the street and on the doorsteps that they felt they could trust Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party government and wanted someone from this constituency that could be the conduit, the pipeline, that would take the message from the Battlefords to the government in Regina. That is what we campaigned on and that is precisely what I intend to do over the next four years. I will be the voice for the Battlefords," he said.
Cox thanked his family in an emotional message, especially wife Linda, along with his campaign workers.
"It's a totally different feeling as when I stood before most of this same crowd four years ago, as you remember," he said.
Cox said he would be on the road Tuesday morning because his "new boss" was expecting all successful Sask Party candidates to be in Regina bright and early Wednesday morning.
Liberal leader Ryan Bater and NDP candidate Len Taylor both made their way to Cox's victory celebration to add their congratulations.
A real estate agent in the Battlefords since 1974, Cox was a campaign manager for the Saskatchewan Party in the 2003 vote before becoming the Saskatchewan Party's candidate in the Battlefords in the 2007 provincial election. The Saskatchewan Party re-nominated Herb Cox at their nominating convention in the spring of 2010.
