The Liberal and NDP candidates in Chatham-Kent-Leamington are rejecting the idea of strategic voting as a way to oust Conservative incumbent Dave Van Kesteren.
A number of anti-Harper campaigns, including the Strategic Voting and Vote Together initiatives, see the riding as a swing opportunity.
Despite the worry of vote splitting, Liberal candidate Katie Omstead isn't planning any formal co-operation with the other candidates.
"I don't really feel we need to do that with the way the momentum is moving towards our campaign," says Omstead. "I've knocked on tens of thousands of doors already and at the doorstep it's very clear that people want change and they're behind me."
NDP candidate Tony Walsh doesn't see a need for strategic voting either.
"We feel that the NDP has a better chance in all the ridings in southwestern Ontario including Chatham-Kent-Leamington. We've got very strong support," says Walsh.
Various strategic voting campaigns have popped up during the federal election campaign pushing for Liberal-NDP co-operation to prevent the Conservatives from forming government again. An Ipsos-Reid poll released early in the election campaign showed 63% of Canadians preferred Liberal-NDP co-operation to another Conservative government.
BlackburnNews.com reached out to Van Kesteren's campaign in regards to this story, but didn't receive a call back.
Mark Vercouteren is also running in the riding for the Green Party.
