The movement to draft Toronto mayoral runner-up Doug Ford to run for Progressive Conservative leader is gaining steam.

A slick new website, draftdougford.ca, went live on Wednesday, urging people to back the former Etobicoke councillor in the race to select a permanent successor to Tim Hudak.

“The support is overwhelming,” said Ford, adding he has nothing to do with the grassroots-driven site and wasn’t aware of it until reporters started calling.

“I’ve got everyone pushing me — including my wife, my kids, and Rob,” he said, referring to his brother, departing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

But Ford, who finished a strong second to John Tory in last week’s mayoral election, emphasized that he hasn’t “yet decided” whether to enter the May 9 Conservative contest.

“If I do go in, we’ll give 110 per cent,” he said, noting that it could be a “12-year commitment” if he became leader and then premier after the 2018 election.

PC MPPs Christine Elliott (Whitby), Vic Fedeli (Nipissing), Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton), Monte McNaughton (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex), and Conservative MP Patrick Brown (Barrie) are already in.

“The five other candidates are fabulous people, but I look at sheer numbers,” said Ford, pointing to the more than 330,000 votes he received in the Oct. 27 civic election.

He estimates that “about 80 per cent” of the people who cast ballots for him have never voted for the Tories before because of his appeal to blue-collar people who tend to opt for the Liberals or New Democrats in provincial elections.

Ford said he would give Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath a run for their money in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Personally, I’d be their worst nightmare if I ran.”

The Draft Doug Ford website boasts testimonials to his ability as a salesman, who “derailed the gravy train” at Toronto city hall.

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“To win a leadership contest you need to sell memberships . . . Doug Ford has the ability to add life to a room and sell people on his ideas for a better future for the PC Party,” the site says.

“Doug Ford would be able to win many areas in Toronto in a general election, something our party hasn’t been able to do in over a decade.”

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