Well in just two weeks, we could end up with one of several possibilities for premier. Things aren’t rolling along quite so smoothly as the Tories would have hoped – Premier Jim Prentice can’t feel too great to see poll results that show a significant rise in support for Wildrose and the NDP.

Mind you, politicians essentially all say the same thing – ‘the only poll that matters is the one that happens on election day’.

That of course does ultimately tell the tale, but rumblings of discontent amongst Albertans must be unsettling to the Tories. Although, as we all know very well, this is Alberta – the Tories have ruled for decades and although people might say they are discontent with the reigning party, they aren’t likely to switch years-long voting patterns come election day.

This campaign has proven to be an interesting one thus far – as usually they can be a little on the dull side. It’s usually a sweeping Tory victory, but as mentioned, some people are saying, “Anybody but the Conservatives.”

Members from other parties are jubilant when they hear this, but will it translate into support?

That remains to be seen.

And speaking of the other parties running, the leadership of both the NDP, the Alberta Party and the Liberals don’t seem to have much use for smaller cities like Red Deer. Unless we’re missing something and they’ve been around, we have yet to see Liberal Leader David Swann or Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley or Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark visit the third largest city in Alberta. Why is this?

It’s not to say they won’t visit – but after all, we are halfway through the campaign.

It’s difficult to understand why they haven’t made the effort to drop by. It can’t be encouraging to local candidates running under their banner – why isn’t your leader visiting your municipality to support you in your run for office?

So far, we’ve seen plenty of Prentice and Brian Jean, leader of the Wildrose, has made a recent stop as well.

Meanwhile, the pressures continue to build on all the parties to put their best foot forward. There doesn’t seem to be much to rely on from past victories – this is particularly true of the PCs. People are quite critical of the party it would appear – plus Prentice has struggled a bit with issues like the whole ‘looking in the mirror’ comment regarding the province’s financial woes.

He hasn’t had an easy hill to climb, and like the other candidates, probably just can’t wait till the campaign reaches an end and voters decide once and for all.

Election forums, meanwhile, are set for April 23rd at the Welikoklad Centre and April 27th at the Memorial Centre.