Coalition for Quebec's Future captured the riding of Louis-Hebert in a provincial byelection on Monday, wresting away what was once considered a safe Liberal seat and a Quebec City-area stronghold for the governing party since 2003.
Former coroner's office spokeswoman Genevieve Guilbault was assured victory in the riding for the third-place Coalition party, garnering 52 per cent of vote with a third of ballots counted.
Ex-political attache Ihssane El Ghernati for the Liberals and Parti Quebecois candidate Norman Beauregard were in a fight for second and third respectively, each registering just over 16 per cent of the vote.
Voters in the riding went to the polls to choose a new member of the legislature, left vacant after the departure of longtime Liberal Sam Hamad in April.
The byelection was considered an important test for the governing Liberals in a riding they'd held for years with comfortable majorities, especially with the next provincial election around the corner in 2018.
The campaign was chaotic from the outset, with both the Liberal and Coalition original candidates dropping out within hours of each other over allegations of psychological harassment dating back to their former jobs.