Even in his darkest political hour, John Yap never once considered throwing in the towel.
An exhausted, exhilarated and emotional Yap took centre stage Tuesday night about 9 p.m. and thanked everyone who helped him get to the other side of the election tunnel.
The BC Liberals' Richmond-Steveston incumbent looked stunned by the margin of his victory - winning his third consecutive election after pulling in 51 per cent of the vote.
"It's been an incredible journey, as this has not been the easiest time of my political career," said Yap, who had to step down as a cabinet minister last month in the wake of the ethnic voter strategy furor.
"But I've been encouraged by almost everyone that's answered the many, many doors I've knocked on."
Asked if he ever thought about giving it all up when the political knives were out last month, Yap said he never once considered calling it a day.
"I'm human, I owned the mistake and, have the people accepted my apology? I think tonight, they have and I'm very humbled by their support."
STEWART DOWN OVER NDP RESULT
It's too early to tell if retired policeman Scott Stewart will come back for more after trailing John Yap as a distant second with 28 per cent of the vote.
"It's been pretty hard on my family time," said rookie candidate Stewart. "It's not been a good night for (The NDP), but it has been a victory for democracy in terms of the amount of people who've voted.
"I had hoped we'd form government, but I want to congratulate John Yap." Stewart said he thought he'd done well for a newcomer to the political game and said he enjoyed a "fantastic campaign against some great opponents."
PAIN OF DEFEAT ETCHED ON DAY'S FACE
Her home may be a stone's throw outside the riding she dreamed of representing.
But the BC Conservative's Carol Day could have been on a different planet when the enormity of her defeat became apparent around 8: 45 p.m. Tuesday.
Putting on a brave face at her house party, packed with family, friends and campaign volunteers, there was no hiding Day's disappointment at her near 12 per cent share of the vote.
"People vote for who they think will be best and I have to respect that," said former school trustee Day.
"Good luck to (Yap), he probably spent around $100,000 on his campaign, while I spent around $7,000."
MORE 'GREEN EDUCATION' REQUIRED
The Green's rookie Jerome Dickey was a shade downhearted with his eight per cent result.
"I had hoped for around double that, so obviously I'm not happy," he said.
"But this is my first time at this and I still think there's a lot of education needed in terms of what our party is all about."
Dickey said he stunned by the NDP's collapse provincially, but said that's "obviously voters have spoken and this is what they want."
Asked if he'd do things differently if he went at it again, Dickey said he'd try to spend even more time campaigning.
"I'm here for the long run to help the party in some capacity, although I'm not sure if I'll run again, we'll see."
UNPARTY HAPPY TO HIT 200 MARK
The Unparty's Mike Donovan said he'd be happy to hit three figures in the polls - he had 151 votes by 11: 15 p.m.
By the time the sun came up the next morning, he and his only other Unparty colleague, wife Chanel Donovan (Richmond Centre), managed to attract 226 votes between them.
"I think we're content, but not jubilant," said software engineer Donovan from his home, who's idea is to hold town-hall meetings with constituents and reach a consensus on the issue at hand.
"But we're looking forward to 2017 now, when we hope to have around 10 candidates across B.C., instead of just myself and my wife. We've had a lot of support from across the province, so we're quite encouraged by what we've heard."
