PC candidate who was symbol of Higgs's rightward shift defeated

Liberal John Herron has won Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins in a close race against Christian activist candidate Faytene Grasseschi, who some say signaled a potential turning point for New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative party.

Herron, a former Progressive Conservative MP, said it was a major win that reflects the progressive nature of the community — with what he called a history of traditionally moderate politics.

"You had a great number of individuals within this community who checked their past partisan storage at the door, where we had Progressive Conservatives, Liberals —even voters who may be more Green-inspired — and they've all joined this particular candidacy," he said. 

Liberals won the riding with 3,259 votes by a margin of 2.7 per cent, the PCs garnered 3,035 votes.

"I think there's a number of things for consideration, given that Mr. Higgs had well over 10 of his own MLAs not offering for him again, I think there were very strong signals that the governing party was apt to change," Herron said. 

"To elect a member who's going to participate in that new government — that's absolutely helpful to the region itself."

The Liberal party won a majority with 31 seats, making leader Susan Holt the first woman to be premier in the province's history. The PC party won 16 seats and the Green party won 2. 

Grasseschi has been a Christian activist for two decades and has been accused of harbouring extreme views on issues such as gay rights and abortion.

She previously said she put her name forward in response to a "party revolt," and what she called an assault "by the liberal media" over Higgs's changes to Policy 713, an education policy requiring students under 16 to obtain parental consent before teachers using a new name or pronoun aligning with their gender identity. 

She was nominated as the candidate for the riding over the objections of Gary Crossman, who held the riding for many years but decided not to reoffer, and members of the PC riding association board.

Early in her campaign, she said her opponents had denigrated her for things she said two decades ago. She also said she believes in the Charter of Rights and Freedom. 

CBC News contacted Grassechi's campaign office for comment Monday night. A campaign staff member said Grassechi and her campaign were hosting a gathering at a private residence on the night of the election.

She was not available for comment once the results were finalized.

In a Facebook post, Grassechi thanked her supporters and campaign team and congratulated Herron on his victory.

Counts in the region were delayed by voting machine failures at the Hampton Community Library polling location. Results came a few hours after the Liberals won a majority. 

The Green Party came in third in the riding, winning 18.7 per cent of the vote. 

Laura Myers, who previously said the PCs should have rejected Grasseschi's bid to run, stopped by Herron's campaign headquarters to congratulate him. 

"The people spoke — they wanted change," she said.

"I think that the Conservative candidate that was chosen for this riding was somebody that the people in the riding just couldn't back. And so they wanted something different. And I think that the Liberal vote, it was a safer vote."

Myers said she feels good about the progress the Green Party has made in the riding. 

"I mean, the last election we had under 13 per cent in this riding and this time we had almost 19 per cent. So that's a pretty big jump. I'm very proud of the campaign that we ran," she said.