McGuinty, Hudak Tied for Support

While the Progressive Conservatives are still ahead in the polls, their leader seems to be dragging them down.

With less than a month to go before the writ is dropped on the Ontario election, the leaders of the ruling Liberals and the upstart Progressive Conservatives are in a statistical tie for support among voters. PC Leader Tim Hudak and Premier Dalton McGuinty both polled at about 30 per cent support in the latest Nanos Research poll, although you may recall that people vote for MPPs in Ontario, not leaders, and the PC party still boasts about a 4.5-point lead in that regard. (Which bodes well for NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who pulled in just 12 per cent.) This latest Nanos poll has to be good news for McGuinty, though, who many had speculated had simply worn out his welcome with Ontarians after eight years in office. It also suggests that the PCs' biggest challenge is getting voters comfortable with Tim Hudak, who's kept a pretty low profile since taking over from John Tory following the last election. Either way, it should make for a tight campaign next month, and surely means the end of the narrative that the Liberals are toast come Oct. 6.

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