Armstrong takes early lead

UPDATE: 8:20 p.m.

With 10 of 17 ballot boxes now being counted, votes are beginning to trickle in for the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.

With more than 5,000 votes being counted in the riding, BC Conservative Party candidate Tara Armstrong has taken the lead with about 55% of the votes cast so far. BC NDP candidate Anna Warwick Sears is currently in second place with 32% of the vote, while Independent candidate Kevin Kraft has about 9% of the vote.

Green Party candidate Andrew Rose is bringing up the rear with just under 5% of the vote so far.

ORIGINAL: 5 p.m.

Four candidates are hoping they've convinced the constituents of the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream that they're the best person for the job of MLA.

Voters in the riding are choosing between BC Conservative candidate Tara Armstrong, independent Kevin Kraft, BC Green Party candidate Andrew Rose and BC NDP candidate Anna Warwick Sears.

Long-time MLA for the riding, BC United's Norm Letnick, opted not to run for re-election, after he was first elected in 2009. The riding has long been held by the BC Liberal Party, which then changed to the BC United last year, but the party dropped out of the election back in August.

Six new ridings were created across the province this election, and a fourth Central Okanagan riding has been added – Kelowna Centre. This meant that a portion of the old Kelowna Lake Country riding, including Kelowna's Glenmore area up to UBC Okanagan, has been added to the new Kelowna Centre riding.

This story will be updated with live results as they come in.

Tara Armstrong

Armstrong has worked with her family's seniors transportation business, Driving Miss Daisy, before joining the Conservative Party of BC last year as the party's Election Readiness Chair.

Armstrong didn't speak with Castanet during the election campaign and didn't attend the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce candidates forum or the Sustainable Environment Network Society candidates forum earlier this month.

Kevin Kraft

Kraft is a teacher in School District 23 and the vice-chair of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. He describes himself as a fiscal conservative and told Castanet he's running as a true independent candidate.

“I am in the right of centre camp. I was raised conservative in a conservative household with the traditional norms and traditional views. But, you have to remember, I am also a millennial and we were raised differently," Kraft told Castanet.

Andrew Rose

Rose is a software engineer and field organizer with the BC Green Party who lives in Victoria. Rose didn't speak with Castanet throughout the campaign and he didn't attend the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce candidates forum or the Sustainable Environment Network Society candidates forum earlier this month.

Anna Warwick Sears

Warwick Sears has worked as the executive director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board for the past 18 years. She told Castanet she's been representing Okanagan issues with senior levels of government throughout her career.

“I saw there was a need for strong representation in this riding, and I thought I could take the skills I have gotten working with governments, listening and addressing local concerns, and bring them to Victoria,” she said.

“It seemed like in this stage of my career I had a lot to offer the community and I want to give back.”