The race to replace veteran MP and former journalist Peter Kent as the Conservative Party’s federal election candidate in Thornhill, Ont., offers an opportunity for the party to provide “Conservatives who have left the movement a reason to come back,” according to long-time Tory staffer Melissa Lantsman who recently announced her intention to run, with Thornhill’s provincial MPP Gila Martow saying one of the reasons she’s running is because the riding is “tougher to hold federally than provincially” following her announcement to run for the job earlier this month.