The expected dogfight turned out to be exactly that in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte (BSOM) as Progressive Conservative incumbent Doug Downey hung on to defeat Liberal Jeff Lehman.
The race was tight all night, with Lehman, who has been Barrie mayor since 2010, conceding defeat just before midnight. Downey beat Lehman by 604 votes, picking up 42.5% of the vote.
Downey served as Attorney General for three years during the Progressive Conservatives first term in office.
He says the victory tells him that Doug Ford and the PC's are focused on the right things.
"We're focused on the economy, the infrastructure, working for workers, and all those things that matter to people, like affordability."
Lehman still has some political life in him and will continue to serve as Barrie mayor until the municipal election.
"Although there are only a few council cycles left, I think I've got the opportunity in the community, with some of the things that were really important to me, like the health accord, to try and move those yardsticks before my terms ends," he said.
Lehman repeated he will not seek another term as mayor.
Elsewhere in the region, it was no contest in Barrie-Innisfil, where Andre Khanjin won a second term at Queen's Park. To say it wasn't close would be an understatement. Khanjin won with 50.2% of the vote, ahead of New Democrat Pekka Reinio who finished second with 19.1% of the vote.
"I think it says loud and clear that Ontarians want another strong and stable majority Progressive Conservative government that doesn't have excuses but has a record of getting things done," Khanjin told Barrie 360.
Khanjin said the government is going to continue to invest in core infrastructure, cost of living and skilled trades.
The Progressive Conservatives had no trouble holding on to seats in Simcoe North (Jill Dunlop), Simcoe-Grey (Brian Saunderson) and York Simcoe (Caroline Mulroney).
The PC's also hung onto Parry Sound Muskoka, with Graydon Smith, who is mayor of Bracebridge, winning that riding in a tight race with the Green Party.
BARRIE-SPRINGWATER-ORO-MEDONTE
| DOWNEY, DOUG | PC Party of Ontario /Parti PC de l’Ontario | 16,114 | 42.45% | 609 |
| LEHMAN, JEFF | Ontario Liberal Party /Parti libéral de l'Ontario | 15,505 | 40.85% | |
| PATCHELL, BEVERLEY | Ontario NDP/NPD /Ontario NDP/NPD | 2,974 | 7.83% | |
| ROBINSON, ELYSE | Green Party of Ontario GPO /Parti Vert de l'Ontario PVO | 1,652 | 4.35% | |
| HUGHES, HAYDEN | New Blue /New Blue | 1,088 | 2.87% | |
| AUGER, GERRY | Ontario Party /Parti Ontario | 626 | 1.65% |
BARRIE-INNISFIL
| KHANJIN, ANDREA | PC Party of Ontario /Parti PC de l’Ontario | 18,225 | 50.25% | 11,283 |
| REINIO, PEKKA | Ontario NDP/NPD /Ontario NDP/NPD | 6,942 | 19.14% | |
| OLTHUIS, JOHN | Ontario Liberal Party /Parti libéral de l'Ontario | 6,564 | 18.10% | |
| NORTH, BONNIE | Green Party of Ontario GPO /Parti Vert de l'Ontario PVO | 2,291 | 6.32% | |
| STEELE, ASHLYN | New Blue /New Blue | 1,220 | 3.36% | |
| DEAN, GRACE | Ontario Party /Parti Ontario | 764 | 2.11% | |
| HUGHES, BENJAMIN | INDEPENDENT /INDÉPENDANT | 147 | 0.41% | |
| TUCKER, JAKE | Ontario People's Front /Front Populaire de l'Ontario | 119 | 0.33% |
SIMCOE-GREY
| SAUNDERSON, BRIAN | PC Party of Ontario /Parti PC de l’Ontario | 27,060 | 51.20% | 15,380 |
| CRYSLER, TED | Ontario Liberal Party /Parti libéral de l'Ontario | 11,680 | 22.10% | |
| NUNN, KEITH | Ontario NDP/NPD /Ontario NDP/NPD | 5,838 | 11.05% | |
| KUHN, ALLAN | Green Party of Ontario GPO /Parti Vert de l'Ontario PVO | 4,737 | 8.96% | |
| GHOBRIAL, DAVID | New Blue /New Blue | 2,146 | 4.06% | |
| SACREY, RODNEY | Ontario Party /Parti Ontario | 1,036 | 1.96% | |
| GORDON, BILLY G | None of the Above Direct Democracy Party /Aucune de ces Réponses Démocratie Directe Parti | 355 | 0.67% |
SIMCOE NORTH
| DUNLOP, JILL | PC Party of Ontario /Parti PC de l’Ontario | 22,827 | 49.92% | 14,766 |
| VAN HOUTTE, ELIZABETH | Ontario NDP/NPD /Ontario NDP/NPD | 8,061 | 17.63% | |
| CAYDEN HILTZ, AARON | Ontario Liberal Party /Parti libéral de l'Ontario | 7,939 | 17.36% | |
| BROOKS, KRYSTAL | Green Party of Ontario GPO /Parti Vert de l'Ontario PVO | 4,016 | 8.78% | |
| DOURIS, MARK | New Blue /New Blue | 1,463 | 3.20% | |
| MACDONALD, AARON | Ontario Party /Parti Ontario | 1,102 | 2.41% | |
| JOSLIN, WILLIAM | Libertarian /Libertarien | 315 | 0.69% |
YORK SIMCOE
| MULRONEY, CAROLINE | PC Party of Ontario /Parti PC de l’Ontario | 20,789 | 56.76% | 14,470 |
| ALVAREZ-BARDALES, WALTER | Ontario Liberal Party /Parti libéral de l'Ontario | 6,319 | 17.25% | |
| KI, SPENCER YANG | Ontario NDP/NPD /Ontario NDP/NPD | 4,083 | 11.15% | |
| STEWART, JULIE | Green Party of Ontario GPO /Parti Vert de l'Ontario PVO | 2,691 | 7.35% | |
| FELLMAN, BRENT | New Blue /New Blue | 1,633 | 4.46% | |
| HOLLANDER, ALANA | Ontario Party /Parti Ontario | 698 | 1.91% | |
| TISDALE, ZACHARY | Libertarian /Libertarien | 262 | 0.72% | |
| COLAVECCHIA, FRANCO | Ontario Moderate Party /Ontario Moderate Party | 153 | 0.42% |
PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA
| SMITH, GRAYDON | PC Party of Ontario /Parti PC de l’Ontario | 20,216 | 45.41% | 2,114 |
| RICHTER, MATT | Green Party of Ontario GPO /Parti Vert de l'Ontario PVO | 18,102 | 40.66% | |
| HORVATH, ERIN | Ontario NDP/NPD /Ontario NDP/NPD | 3,391 | 7.62% | |
| COCKS, ANDREW JOHN | Ontario Party /Parti Ontario | 1,649 | 3.70% | |
| MAYNARD, DOUG | New Blue /New Blue | 883 | 1.98% | |
| PREDIE JR., DANIEL | INDEPENDENT /INDÉPENDANT | 155 | 0.35% | |
| WADDELL, BRAD | Populist Ontario /Populiste Ontario | 126 | 0.28% |
Voter Turnout:
Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte: 44.61%
Barrie-Innisfil : 39.26%
Simcoe-Grey: 43.32%
Simcoe North: 45.38%
York Simcoe: 38.87%
Parry Sound-Muskoka: 53.28%
Ontario: 43.03%
