Political pundit Caroline Elliott launches her bid for BC Conservative leader Friday with a pitch designed to soothe a party still arguing about what, exactly, it wants to be.

“It is about making people feel proud to be conservatives again,” she said, in an interview prior to her official launch.

“When I was door-knocking in the last election, I'd run into a mom that I know at school and they would whisper to me, ‘Oh, I'm conservative too.’

“And I think this is a really defining moment for this party. Is the person who wins going to be someone who makes you actually feel proud to be conservative and not ashamed of it, and something you say aloud to your friends and family without even just an iota of shame?

“That’s something that’s very possible, and that I represent.”

The 41-year-old enters what has quickly become a crowded race for BC Conservative leader.

Already declared are businessman Yuri Fulmer, Prince George MLA Sheldon Clare, Rossland contractor Warren Hamm and former BC Liberal cabinet minister Iain Black. Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar is expected to launch Friday.

All camps are actively courting the displaced supporters of ICBA president Chris Gardner, who stunned the field by aborting his leadership bid due to health reasons Wednesday.

Elliott is a complicated candidate, as both an outsider and frontrunner in the race. It’s a contradiction that defines her appeal and her vulnerability.

There are BC Conservatives who view her with suspicion for her former role as vice-president of the BC United Party (formerly the BC Liberals). “Anyone who has spent two decades in politics on........

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