Definitely the media didn't help. The media and the small sample of polls said the race was between Mackay and O'Toole, this was true in the end but false in the way how close the race was in reality. This media framing forced CPC members to make a choice between O'toole and mackay. "I like lewis more but I got to stop Mackay so i'm voting O'toole" - probably most realistic CPC members. If we had a primary system, we would see Lewis gain momentum in provinces with real results and how weak the support for Mackay actually was. I would predict Lewis would have won in that system. Media would also have to give her more attention in that scenario.
CPC voters really messed up by choosing O'toole over Lewis.
Definitely the media didn't help. The media and the small sample of polls said the race was between Mackay and O'Toole, this was true in the end but false in the way how close the race was in reality. This media framing forced CPC members to make a choice between O'toole and mackay. "I like lewis more but I got to stop Mackay so i'm voting O'toole" - probably most realistic CPC members. If we had a primary system, we would see Lewis gain momentum in provinces with real results and how weak the support for Mackay actually was. I would predict Lewis would have won in that system. Media would also have to give her more attention in that scenario.