Kevin Russell, a Progressive Conservative candidate and former mayor of Miramichi River Valley, emerged victorious in the Miramichi West byelection by defeating Liberal candidate Hannah Fulton Johnston with a winning margin of close to 1,000 votes. The election results were confirmed by Elections New Brunswick at 8:45 p.m. after all 15 polls had reported in. Russell secured 3,008 votes compared to Fulton Johnston’s 2,047, while the other three candidates each received less than 100 votes.
The voter turnout in the riding, which has 9,956 eligible voters, reached slightly over 52 percent, as reported by Elections New Brunswick. The byelection was necessary as the seat had been vacant since March 25, when Progressive Conservative MLA Mike Dawson stepped down to run as a Conservative candidate in the federal election, subsequently winning and becoming the MP for Miramichi-Grand Lake.
Residents of Miramichi West expressed disappointment over the delay in calling the byelection by Premier Susan Holt, who had a six-month window to announce it but only did so in early September, narrowly avoiding the deadline of September 25. In addition to Russell and Fulton Johnston, other candidates in the race included Genevieve MacRae from the Green Party, Christopher Rosser representing the Libertarian Party of New Brunswick, and Independent candidate Richard (Hoss) Sutherland.
The election outcome does not shift the balance of power in New Brunswick, where the Liberals hold 31 seats, the Progressive Conservatives now have 16 with Russell’s win, and the Greens have two seats in the legislature.