Friday May 31, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC
Political editorial analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Today at 1 pm BC Conservatives leader John Rustad will hold what he has described ahead of time as a “major announcement”. But that’s how all the media advisories from the party have been worded lately, i.e. as something major.
In a hotly contested pre-campaign phase — especially between the two center-right parties, understandably every issue seems major.
Naturally the BC Conservatives are hoping to ride the crest of the wave of current interest in their party, particularly in that polls are showing the BC Conservatives remaining strong in political polls over the past several weeks.
Rustad has been getting continued criticism from both the BC NDP and BC United about what is seen as poor quality candidates. One recently had to drop out of the campaign after some social media posts considered to be homophobic were found online.
Specifically, back on May 16 BC United Leader Kevin Falcon said that the BC Conservatives are not vetting their candidates properly and that he wouldn’t want to be associated with some or many of them.
Achieving more lead when policy comes:
Meanwhile, Island Social Trends asked Rustad mid-May as to when some solid policy platform content would be released by the Conservative Party of BC. Perhaps today will be one of those days, instead of the new party tilting at every windmill that their opposing forces throw up in their way.
If the BC Conservatives wish to maintain their strong second-place as seen in polls over the last few weeks, it has to be backed up by more than ‘common sense’ and sticking it to the BC NDP.
Election intention polls:
Recent polls have been showing BC Conservatives as the stronger threat against the BC NDP, compared to the BC United which is struggling with name recognition issues since rebranding their party name.
However, polls are not always accurate, and can easily mislead depending on how the question(s) are worded and who is in the respondent base. As well, the media can stir up ‘noise’ about particular party leaders or candidates, which can sway what might be the real intentions of undecided voters.
It was reassuring to see that the Angus Reid poll released on May 30, 2024 split out undecided from decided voters. Clearly there are party-affiliated voters who won’t be switching their allegiance. So it makes sense to watch the trends among “undecided and leaning” voter intentions.
The only poll that counts is on election date, as Premier David Eby has been oft-repeating in recent weeks.
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: POLITICS | BC ELECTION 2024
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Island Social Trends posts news and political analysis daily at IslandSocialTrends.ca.
Editorial analysis by Mary P Brooke.