Percy Hatfield is the new MPP for the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh.

Cheers erupted at the NDP party headquarters when Essex MPP Taras Natyshak first announced Hatfield as the winner. The New Democrats also won the London West riding.

“Together we have sent a very clear message to Premier Wynne and the Liberal government,” says Hatfield. “Your days in office are numbered.”

Hatfield was billed as the favourite in the byelection on Thursday. He won the riding with 15,693 votes or 61.3 per cent. He’ll take over the seat left vacant when Liberal Dwight Duncan resigned in February.

“The people of Windsor-Tecumseh have a new voice to speak for them at Queen’s Park, and it’s the voice of a proud New Democrat who won’t sit idly by when Liberal scandals are brewing.”

PC candidate Robert de Verteuil was second with 5,149 votes or 20.1 per cent.

“If I had any advice for him, it’s to focus on that auto industry. It’s something I really wanted to bring to the table this time,” says de Verteuil.

Liberal candidate Jeewen Gill was third with 3,057 votes or 11.9 per cent.

“We stand at the crossroads of success and stagnation,” says Gill. “Under the leaderships of Kathleen Wynne, creating jobs in Ontario is our number one priority.”

Other candidates in the riding were Adam Wright for the Green party, Lee Watson for the Family Coalition, Dan Dominato for Libertarian and Andrew Brannan for the Freedom party.

NDP leader Andrea Horvath joined Hatfield at the Royal Canadian Legion on Wyandotte Street East for the celebration.

“For a long time I’ve been hearing that the people in Windsor are very unhappy with the governing Liberals,” says Horvath. “When Dwight Duncan resigned his seat we knew there was a chance here that people could come back to the NDP.”

This is Hatfield’s first run at provincial politics, but analysts say he had the edge because of his work in municipal politics as Ward 7 councillor in Windsor.

The riding of Windsor-Tecumseh has been a liberal stronghold for the last 18 years, held by Duncan since 1995.

In the last election, the Liberals won in the riding by 3,718 votes over the NDP.