Bienfait's Paul Carroll was defeated in his bid for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.
Carroll, who is the mayor of Bienfait and was the PC Party's representative in the Estevan constituency in the 2016 provincial election, was defeated by Regina's Ken Grey in a two-candidate race at the party's leadership convention Saturday in Moose Jaw. A breakdown of the votes was not immediately available.
He admitted he didn't have the strongest speech in front of convention delegates on Saturday, and he believes that cost him some votes.
"Ken made a very dynamic speech, and I thought he was rewarded for it," said Carroll.
But he viewed it as a very good learning experience, and he was happy with how he was received.
Carroll said he would remain involved with the party, and he would complete his term as Bienfait's mayor.
He said most of his support was local, and it was a challenge running against somebody from Regina.
"He had many members here that were in attendance, and I could see that I was up against the wall early in the day. I tried to put my best face on, and hope for the best."
Carroll noted he was the first person to file his nomination papers for the leadership. He hoped he would encourage other people to run, and then Grey, who ran in a provincial by-election in Regina in September, filed his papers.
"As I gathered a little bit of momentum in my campaign, I certainly became more serious about it, and the last half of my campaign, I was certainly was seriously considering the possibility (of winning), although it just turned out that it wasn't to be," said Carroll.
Grey takes the place of Rick Swenson, who had been the party's leader since 2006. Swenson announced in 2016 that he would step down as party leader after a new leader was found.
