By Russ Campbell of Russ Campbell’s Blog

First round results of the PC Party of Ontario are now in. Tim Hudak leads with 3,512 votes, followed by Frank Klees with 3,094, Christine Elliott with 2,729 and Randy Hillier at 1,014. Hillier will now be removed from the ballot and his votes redistributed based on his supporters’ second choice.

I really did think that Christine Elliott would be in second place at this point, but I congratulate Frank Klees on such a strong first ballot showing. This will surely go to three rounds since none can win on the second ballot with even 100 per cent of Hillier’s vote. The second round will decide who will make it to the third and final ballot.

I believe Hudak will benefit the most from Hiller being dropped. Look for him to pick up about 700 former Hillier votes, moving him to the final round in a strong position to carry the day. Christine Elliott will benefit least from Hiller’s votes-about 100 votes or less. That leaves about 200 votes to go to Frank Klees.

The real question now looks to be: who will survive the second round?

By Kirk West of Politics with Kirk West

I’m really looking forward to attending the convention. Tonight, the convention kicks off with a tribute reception for John Tory.

I was pretty harsh towards him after the last election and had even blogged about John Tory being called into Donald Trump’s boardroom.

However, I also remember that Tory did other things for the party, such as bringing it out of a massive $4.5M hole, so I expect we’ll all be getting a reminder of what a force he has been in the party over and above his public pursuits. I am looking forward to learning about it.

When the leadership race started I had hoped the race would focus on the bigger philosophical issues (red tory vs. blue tory) and I am glad it turned out that way.

When I first watched Hillier’s and Hudak’s launch events, I knew right away (pun intended) that I would be watching it carefully.

And a Hat Tip to all the bloggers and the campaign social media chairs. Well done. I’m sure you’re all suffering from sleep depravation and caffeine overdose. At least starting tomorrow you can substitute caffeine for BEvERages. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can tomorrow and Saturday.

By Darryl Wolk of Darryl Wolk Politics

I would like to congratulate everyone who took the time to participate and vote in the Ontario PC Leadership Race. I believe the campaigns from Frank Klees, Tim Hudak, Randy Hillier and Christine Elliott all played important roles in putting forward new ideas, recruiting new party members and putting us in a stronger position to defeat Dalton McGuinty in 2011. Although the leadership race was very short, I acknowledge that many people have put a lot of time into this leadership contest since John Tory was unfortunately defeated in the recent by-election in the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock on March 5.

I have nothing but deep respect for all of the candidates who put their name forward in this process. I also have nothing but respect for the members who worked so hard to promote their preferred candidates.

The last few months of competition among Conservatives has been fun but the real work begins now. I think the party is much stronger because of this race but we must all work together to get our membership and support levels up to where they were a decade ago.

This weekend the results will be revealed at the convention in Markham. I think it is important as party members that we all go to the convention prepared to rally behind whoever is chosen by the grassroots who cast their votes on June 21 and June 25. On a personal level, I will be proud to support whoever wins and have nothing but respect for the four individuals who put their name forward in this contest.

I am also looking forward to the John Tory tribute where we can thank John for his efforts leading our party and hopefully convince him to run for mayor of Toronto against David Miller where his talents are most needed right now.

Recent polls show that after this weekend we still have a lot of work ahead of us as Progressive Conservatives. Dalton McGuinty is going to be a tough opponent in 2011 and it is important that we do not lose any time in preparing for the next election by failing to unite following this leadership race. The talents from all campaigns are going to be required to change government in 2011 and bring Ontario back to have status and prosperity.

Saturday of course we will all go into the convention rooting for our candidate of choice. Once the announcement is made, I encourage everyone to demonstrate unity and put their unconditional support behind whoever is elected. After Saturday, I am looking forward to working with my PC colleagues and friends on the real election that matters. We cannot afford another term of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government. In order to bring change, we need all hands on deck. I look forward to connecting with members from all the leadership camps this weekend.

See you all in Markham!

By Russ Campbell of Russ Campbell’s Blog

We are hours from closing the polls and days from knowing who will lead our party in the Legislature and into the 2011 election. As I see it, the stakes could not be higher for the PC Party of Ontario.

I am encouraged by the quality of the four leadership candidates and by the high level of interest and enthusiasm they generated throughout the race. Their campaigns were short but intense; their debate thought-provoking.

Shrewd and creative use of “new media” have been hallmarks of this campaign. Twitter and Facebook as well as more traditional Web pages were utilized extensively. No longer did party members have to depend on the mainstream media to provide knowledge about the candidates. Access to the candidates was open to all with an e-mail account or a web browser. Internet-savvy members could converse directly with fellow supporters and debate the issues with adversaries.

This bodes well for when next we take on Mr. McGuinty. Here’s to victory in 2011!