Sask Party leadership election: Jan 27, 2018

[mileslunn]

Gordon Wyant probably seems like the best choice to win back the lost voters especially considering they largely have a lock on Rural Saskatchewan, it is urban areas they need to win back support.  Don McMorris would have been a good choice had he not had his DUI record.  His son Mark McMorris is an Olympic snowboarder and with the leadership race right around the Olympics most likely that would help in name recognition, but he is probably too damaged.

Brad Trost may run, but he will go nowhere.  Most people know full well someone like him would ensure a lost.  Even in Alberta, he would probably lose as leader of the UCP against Notley (perhaps the Alberta Party might win then if Notley is still unpopular) so he will never get anywhere near power.

[mileslunn]

Of course, had he not won the federal CPC leadership, Scheer would have been talked about as a potential Wall successor.

Is there a "Liberal" wing to the Sask Party, and if so, who'd be its standard-bearer?

Not really although the 8 MLAs who created the party were four PCs and four Liberals, but I would say the party is about 90% federal conservative and 10% federal liberal otherwise it's not as mixed as say the BC Liberals are who are around 1/3 federal liberal and 2/3 federal conservative. 

[mileslunn]

It also assumes the polls stay where they are at, nonetheless even if the Saskatchewan Party does recover I would be quite shocked if they got up to 60% support provincewide as when you've been in power 13 years you will develop some baggage and some will want you gone.  I can see the Saskatchewan Party maybe doing as well as they did in 2007, that is doable, but getting what they got in 2011 and 2016 considering both were records seems highly unlikely.  She could move to another riding but they would be more a tacit admission the party expects to lose seats.