2004 Election Campaign
The Alliance nominated candidates in all 83 electoral divisions and three candidates for the Senator-in-waiting, for the 2004 Alberta election, which was held on November 22, 2004. The party was excluded from Global Television's leaders' debate because it had not elected any members in the 2001 election, which was held before the party was founded. Some Alliance members noted that in the 1997 election, the Alberta New Democratic Party leader was allowed in the debate (as was then Social Credit leader Thorsteinson), even though the NDP had no MLAs at the time. They also noted that the NDP did not even have a full slate of candidates in the 1997 election.
The Alliance hired an American firm, Campaign Secrets, to help run its campaign. Campaign Secrets, which has extensive experience working on Republican campaigns, produced advertisements that were criticized by some Albertans for employing "U.S.-style" negative campaign tactics. The Alliance leadership defended their use of American strategists, claiming that most right-leaning Albertan consultants were already hired by the well-heeled Tories.
Read more about this topic: Alberta Alliance Party
Famous quotes containing the words election and/or campaign:
“The election makes me think of a story of a man who was dying. He had only two minutes to live, so he sent for a clergyman and asked him, “Where is the best place to go to?” He was undecided about it. So the minister told him that each place had its advantages—heaven for climate, and hell for society.”
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