'It's not great': Alberta independence movement takes hit in Olds byelection
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'It's not great,' he tweeted shortly before midnight, as the last of the results trickled in from Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.
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The rural Alberta riding, one of three up for grabs in Monday's provincial byelection, was closely watched for a potential separatist breakthrough.
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In the end, the two pro-independence candidates on the ballot took home a respectable 19 per cent of the vote, but fell short of both major parties.
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'I see a lot of talking heads and pundits and pollsters that are all quite vigorously calling for us to pack it in. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news for them, but we're just getting started,' said Davies.
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He said going into the byelection that he was aiming for about 20 per cent of the vote.
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Davies, who favours Alberta becoming an independent constitutional republic, concedes that the Alberta Republicans' name and red colours may have tethered it too closely to U.S. President Donald Trump.
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'(The branding) certainly did cause questions about what we were,' said Davies.
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'Did it leave an opening for others to spread misinformation? Absolutely it did.'
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Davies pushed back against assertions throughout the campaign that he wants Alberta to enter the U.S. as the 51st state, a claim he flatly denies.
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Davies, who lives in south Red Deer, said he'll be running in the next provincial election but hasn't decided which riding he'll contest.
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