Close election battle expected in Saint John-Rothesay riding

In the riding of Saint John-Rothesay the Liberals will be trying to hold on to a riding that for the previous two elections had gone Conservative.

The front runners in the race were feeling confident about their campaigns in the days leading up to this election day.

Liberal incumbent Wayne Long feels both he and his party have done enough to warrant another term in office. 2015 Conservative runner up Rodney Weston said he feels better this election than he did four years ago when he lost by more than 77 hundred votes.

2:03 Tight race expected in riding of Fundy Royal ahead of election day results

READ MORE: Atlantic Canadians cast their votes Monday as polling stations start to open

Much has happened in those four years to have some suggest the race in Saint John-Rothesay this time is going to be a close one. Some say Long will have to fight against the dip in popularity of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

“Regarding of what people think about Wayne Long, he’s probably hearing at the door…people talking about the leader, the performance of the government, some of the things that have happened during the campaign,” said JP Lewis, a political scientist at UNB-Saint John.

Lewis says that could open the door for Weston to regain the seat he lost to Long in 2015. Lewis also says this election is a good test on the strength of the local candidate if their leader is under attack.

1:49 More than 600-thousand people eligible to vote across New Brunswick

READ MORE: Millions of Canadians cast their votes Monday as polling stations start to open

“If Wayne Long is holding on to Saint John-Rothesay maybe that bodes well for local candidates across the country.”

The Conservatives have also been on the attack over the failed Energy East project with the party saying, if elected, they would work toward a resource corridor.

Interestingly the last six general elections involving Saint john have been split down the middle. Three wins for the Conservatives and three for the Liberals. We will find out tonight which way will the pendulum swing this time.