It has been an interesting campaign for Nathan Neudorf.
The business owner, who is making his first run in politics, has seen his candidacy shift between two different ridings.
Neudorf was announced as a potential United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate for Lethbridge-East in June, but he stepped aside after being approached by the party, which said it had found a preferred candidate to run in the riding.
“(The preferred candidate) was born and raised in the area and has a significant resume so I sat down with the party, and we discussed different options, different challenges … different ways through this,” Neudorf said.
“He actually had two PhDs — one in finance and one in law — and he works for a large, global bank.”
Neudorf said he voluntarily stepped aside but decided to run in the Livingstone-Macleod riding — a race he lost earlier this month.
However, a technicality brought him back to Lethbridge-East.
“Somehow, there was an ineligibility for (the preferred candidate) to run, which created the opening for me to come back,” Neudorf explained.
He said the UCP’s preferred candidate lives outside of the country.
None of the people to whom Global News spoke would say who that preferred candidate was.
UCP leader Jason Kenney expects the race to be a close one.
“We’ve had 68 contested nominations with 55,000 United Conservative members voting, and that will be the case in Lethbridge-East. There will be a nomination in the new year,” Kenney said.
Neudorf is joined by Bryan Litchfield, Kimberly Lyall, Angela Zuba and Robin James in seeking the Lethbridge-East UCP nomination.
He said there was no coercion or pressure for him to drop out of the race and he understands why the party wanted to include someone like the preferred candidate to run in the riding.
“That doesn’t mean it’s not without its frustrations and not without its challenges. I want to be the best contestant and chosen for the job, and that’s my perspective. But there is a time to look at the greater good,” Neudorf said.
A date for the nomination vote has not yet been announced.