ANALYSIS: Is the Ontario Liberal leadership race poised for an upset?

“I’m angry.”

Ask Eric Lombardi why he’s thinking about running for the Ontario Liberal leadership, and that’s the answer you’ll get. In fact, when we got together last week, he repeated it, with added emphasis:

“I’m really angry.”

Under normal circumstances, a guy like Eric Lombardi probably wouldn’t get a passing glance for leader of a party that’s been around for nearly 159 years and won 17 out of 44 elections since Confederation.

But these aren’t normal circumstances. The Liberals have come third in the seat count for three consecutive elections — that’s never happened before. And the fact that three experienced politicians (Kathleen Wynne, Steven Del Duca, and Bonnie Crombie) have led the party to those outcomes makes a guy like Lombardi think he may have a shot at something he normally wouldn’t.

At the moment, the race for Liberal leader technically hasn’t started yet. The party brass are in the midst of discussing how long the campaign should be and what the rules and candidate criteria are, so nobody has yet confirmed that they’re in the race.

Which is why a bunch of folks — Lombardi almost certainly included — are preparing to announce that they’re intending to set up leadership exploratory committees. Until the starter’s pistol has been fired by the party’s executive, that’s all prospective candidates can do.

Which is why you’ll hear Lombardi say things like this[…] This is an excerpt. Read the full article at TVO.