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“The data we’ve collected to date shows either Andrew or Mike, one of them is in second place and one of them is in third. We don’t know conclusively who holds what spot, but we do know Andrew and Mike are the two candidates who have consistently defended and promoted B.C. Liberal values instead of watering them down and apologizing for them.”

Candidates can’t force their supporters to select another contender as their second choice. But Wilkinson and de Jong will both send out electronic notices this weekend outlining their shared beliefs and strongly encouraging anyone who is voting for them to choose the other candidate as a second choice, so that at least one of them has the best chance of winning.

“It’s a very close race between the top three candidates,” said Stephen Carter, de Jong’s campaign manager. “This is what makes sense. When you look at the numbers you don’t want a minority of the party to choose the outcome. And I think the majority of the party would be choosing Andrew or Mike as their first choices if they were combined. This way we can make sure the second choices follow the first, and we get the outcome that the vast majority of members want at this time.”

The Wilkinson-de Jong deal is likely a blow to the campaign of Todd Stone, who has the closest alignment with the other two and now finds himself excluded from their second-ballot cooperation. He could enter into some sort of partnership with MLAs Michael Lee and Sam Sullivan, who are also running.