A new "Draft Doug Ford" website and Twitter account is encouraging the outgoing Ward 2 councillor to jump into the Ontario PC leadership race.
The website – which has a similar design to the one Ford used during his recent mayoral bid in Toronto – highlights his achievements during the last four years in council, and touts his leadership skills. According to the group behind the site, Ford is a "natural born salesman" and has the ability to "renew" the party.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the group said that Ford "would be able to win many areas in Toronto in a general election, something our party hasn’t been able to do in over a decade."
It's not clear who the pro-Ford group is, but the website claims they are a collection of "grassroots people who believe Doug Ford is the only choice to save the Ontario PC Party." It adds that some of them are provincial PC members, "but most…are not -- not until Doug Ford enters the race."
The website also takes a quote from a July 2010 Toronto Star article, in which John Tory describes Ford as a "smart, button-down, no-nonsense businessperson." It is the same comment which was taken out of context by Ford leading up to the municipal Election Day as a cheeky attack on then-rival Tory.
Ford told reporters on Oct. 14 that he had a "glowing" political supporter to reveal. He then read from the Toronto Star article.
Ford -- who later lost to Tory on Oct. 27 -- has not officially entered the race for the provincial PC leadership. He has, however, indicated that he is interested in running to become the next provincial Conservative leader, replacing Tim Hudak.
If he throws his name in the hat, he would be running against five other declared candidates, including MPPs Christine Elliott and Lisa MacLeod.
In a recent Forum Research Poll, Elliott was considered the frontrunner in the race (26%), followed by undeclared Ford (18%), and MacLeod (7%).
"We all know Christine Elliott is cruising for a coronation, but Doug Ford may prove to be a bump on the road to that event," Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said in a statement. "He has partisans in the all-important, vote-rich 905, and that’s where the PCs need to win votes to take power."