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“Don’t go over the top in attacking the NDP,” stated United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney in a memo addressed to nomination candidates.

It’s part of a 10-point message, dated Friday and leaked to Postmedia, that goes on to tell aspiring nominees: “The public already wants to replace this failed government. They don’t need overheated rhetoric from us to be persuaded of the need for positive change.”

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The letter outlines advice from Kenney to those seeking UCP nominations, ranging from “stay positive” to “be magnanimous in victory, and gracious in defeat.”

It cautions nomination candidates that anything they say can be used against them by “those opposed to our party’s success and their allies in the media.

“Message discipline doesn’t work if it’s only part of the time,” Kenney stated.

The advice follows recent criticisms levelled at UCP nomination hopefuls.

Contestant Todd Beasley, who had planned to run in Brooks-Medicine Hat, was rejected in the wake of his anti-Islamic slurs on social media. Last week Sandra Kim, contestant for Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin, came under fire for anti-LGBTQ social media posts she shared in 2015.