The B.C. Liberals held onto Maple Ridge-Mission as Christy Clark led her party to a come-from-behind victory in Tuesday's provincial election.
Prelimnary results from Elections B.C. saw incumbent Marc Dalton win the riding by 1,532 votes, taking 8,842 once all the ballots were counted.
New Democrat Mike Bocking got 7,310 votes and declared defeat around 10:30 p.m. by visiting Dalton's office to congratulate him.
"It's been a lot of work," said Dalton, as his team of volunteers sat down for a late supper of pizza.
"The win was astonishing in my opinion."
Dalton's tenure as the MLA for Maple Ridge - Mission however has not been smooth. In 2011, he was targeted for recall as part of the anti-Harmonized Sales Tax campaign but survived after organizers failed to collect enough signatures to trigger a by-election.
He won the riding for the first time in 2009 by a margin of 68 votes.
During this campaign, Dalton knew he needed every single vote.
"Connecting with people has been very positive," said Dalton, who door-knocked for 10 hours on Saturday.
Premier Clark visited the riding three times in a span of two months.
"She has been steadfast," said Dalton, who has been one of Clark's most loyal supporters.
"I've come to admire her openness. I find that I do have a voice with her and that's good for Maple Ridge and good for Mission because that means there is influence with the premier and with the government. I am really looking forward to next term."
Alex Pope of the Green Party of B.C. pulled in 1,233 votes while B.C. Conservative Chad Thompson got 780.