In the race to be Toronto’s next mayor, the winning ballots are painted red.

Without a Liberal candidate among the front-runners, and pluralities of Conservative and NDP supporters appearing locked up already, the top campaigns are now vying for Liberal votes.

As they approach the final leg of the campaign, there has been a concerted effort to win support from the centre — with public endorsements, quiet events, and attempts to label opponents as anything but Liberal.

Recent polls show contenders John Tory, often described as a red Tory, and NDP darling Olivia Chow in a virtual tug-of-war over the votes of Liberal supporters.

Many argue the municipal election is one rightly devoid of official political parties — Tory has his navy and green campaign colours, Chow her purple and yellow ones. In recent years, Toronto’s race has been viewed through the lens of urban versus suburban — as it was in 2010 when Rob Ford took an overwhelming majority of votes outside the downtown core to beat George Smitherman.

But that doesn’t mean party politics disappear during the months-long race.

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One poll by Maple Leaf Strategies at the end of July showed Tory and Chow in a virtual tie among supporters of the federal Liberals, with Tory at 31 per cent and Chow at 36 per cent. Rob Ford only had 16 per cent.

An earlier poll in May by Forum Research had Chow with 43 per cent of provincial Liberal voters and Tory with 28 per cent in a five-way race. Both Tory and Chow’s approval rating with Liberals was also 67 per cent.

Both polls showed Tory leading with Conservative supporters, most recently with 41 per cent, and Chow leading with NDP supporters, with 48 per cent.

For Tory, the pitch to elected GTA Liberals and voters across the city has been direct and aggressive.

With increasing frequency, his team has been sending out press releases announcing his latest endorsements — often including at least one prominent Liberal.

His campaign co-chair, Bob Richardson — himself a Liberal insider with many connections to the party — argued those endorsements are a “barometer” for support within the party.

So far, Tory’s is the only campaign to be actively touting endorsements — including Liberal MP Judy Sgro, Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter and former Liberal MPP and speaker Alvin Curling.

With the prevalence of Twitter in this campaign, candidates are not limited to press releases and now self-promote their political shoulder-rubbing with selfies — which both Tory and Chow’s feeds are filled with.

Those endorsements don’t account for what Tory’s campaign hope is quietly building support.

They have held small, coffeehouse-style meetings trying to attract Liberal backers to hear Tory’s pitch, one that has largely centred on his SmartTrack transit proposal. The $8-billion idea falls neatly in line with Premier Kathleen Wynne’s plans for electrifying GO rail, something Richardson said was “not done in a bubble and it was not by accident.”

A breakfast recently held at Queen’s Park attracted a majority of GTA representatives, Richardson claimed. Tory also spoke at an Ontario Young Liberals event earlier this month.

It was Tory’s time as part of the “Big Blue Machine,” including on campaigns for people like cabinet minister Larry Grossman, former premier Frank Miller and former prime minister Brian Mulroney, that earned him Conservative Party leader status in 2004 before he was pushed out in 2009. But for his recent efforts, Tory’s team says they are seeing his support amongst Liberals steadily grow.

Chow’s communications director Jamey Heath rejected the idea that votes will be won on party affiliation.

“I don’t think it’s a question of party labels, I think it’s more a question of values and priorities,” Heath said.

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But both candidates have in public, including mid-debate, made calculated efforts to label the other as a “Conservative” or as “NDP” — each employing rhetoric suggesting that the other is decidedly not Liberal.

“They don’t have to explicitly appeal to Liberals by using the word big ‘L’ Liberal,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto and Canadian politics expert. “What they do is appeal to people who have small ‘l’ liberal values.”

Heath said Chow’s focus on investment for social services and opposition to privatization puts her in line with both NDP and Liberal supporters. He accused Tory of wanting to privatize parks and recreation facilities, which would increase fees, and lacking a housing policy — things Heath said do not align with progressive values.

At an earlier debate, Tory said he was not opposed to exploring privatizing city recreational facilities, but later clarified he was only referring to city-owned golf courses and ski hills.

Heath’s comments, however, are also part of a strategy used by both campaigns to position their candidate in the centre — an inclusive peacemaker who can work across party lines.

Tory often refers to his ability to work with both the Conservative government in Ottawa and Wynne’s Liberals at home.

“Mr. Tory is trying to convince people by who his friends are as opposed to what his policies are,” Heath said — a challenge Chow has often repeated to counter Tory’s pitch.

While Heath provided no indication of a specific strategy for attracting support from various political camps, he pointed to Chow’s advisory committee, which he said includes accomplished people in a variety of fields.

Former Liberal MPP David Caplan, one of Chow’s committee members, said he first met Chow in the early ’90s when they were both school board trustees in North York.

“Some of things I really like and admire about Olivia are just simply her values are very similar to mine,” Caplan said, speaking about her push for the Toronto Youth Cabinet at city hall. “I’ve always kidded her and said, ‘You’re really a Liberal at heart.’ ”

Those like Sgro, the Liberal MP, said she found common ground instead with Tory’s social activism, including his support of groups like the Belka Enrichment Center for low-income youth in North York.

“He’s showing me that he has a strong social side,” Sgro said. “That’s what people need to see with Tory, is the other side of him.”

After Karen Stintz’s announcement she is quitting the race, Tory could stand to pick up more Liberal votes.

In a theoretical three-way race between Tory, Chow and Ford, Maple Leaf’s July poll showed Tory and Chow both gaining Liberal votes, but Tory further closing the gap on Chow.

Rob Ford’s campaign spokesperson did not return requests for an interview for this story. It is not clear who Ford’s political backers are.

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