Liberal party candidate Kirk Cameron was handed a decisive defeat in Monday's byelection, but says he'll likely run again in the upcoming general election.

Nothing is for sure, and he'll need time to talk with friends and neighbours before making up his mind about taking another crack at Whitehorse Centre, he said shortly after addressing a gathering of campaign workers and Liberal supporters Monday evening.

Cameron also emphasized his days as a political junkie go back more than 30 years, though always watching and involving himself from the sidelines.

So when he decided, as Cameron puts it, to come out of hiding and seek public office, he knew he wasn't just going to be a one-shot pony.

"But I will spend some time out there talking to people and getting their opinions and that will help me make up my mind about what I want to do.”

While it was widely held that NDP candidate Liz Hanson was the front runner as the party's leader in a riding which belonged to the late NDP leader Todd Harding for the past eight years, some in the Liberal camp were expecting a fight.

It never materialized, as Hanson secured support from 356 voters compared to 181 for Cameron and 150 for Yukon Party candidate Mike Nixon.

But the 52-year-old Liberal put on a brave face.

"What do I say?” were his first words as he walked through the door of the KABABery restaurant into a subdued but somewhat jolly party of the Liberal faithful. "This past month has been fabulous.”

Cameron said as a lifelong resident of the downtown who knows the lay of the land in Whitehorse Centre, he wanted to run a campaign on the issues.

He wanted to provide voters with a solid selection of candidates out of respect for Hardy, who passed away in late July after a lengthy battle with leukemia.

All that was achieved, he told the gathering, which included Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell and the entire party caucus.

"I think I got the message out about who Kirk Cameron is and what that means to all the residents downtown,” said the businessman who once served as the deputy minister of the Executive Council Office under Pat Duncan's 2000-02 Liberal government.

"I think the message was very clear about what I stand for and what the Liberal Party stands for.

"I think the electorate had good choices, and that is for us to congratulate, and that is for us to celebrate and quite frankly, I plan to celebrate that tonight.”

Mitchell told the 20-plus people on hand that while he could be happier with the results, he could not be prouder of the candidate.

Cameron, he said, has drawn out the tough issues that need to be worked on for the upcoming general election, which Premier Dennis Fentie must call prior to Oct. 14 of next year.

Jason Cunning, Mitchell's chief of staff, said campaign workers had counted more than 260 voters who were either confirmed Liberals or who were leaning toward the centre.

The count was either off or voters were simply telling campaign workers what they wanted to hear, he said.

Cunning also pointed out the abundance of new condominium residents downtown didn't seem to be a factor.

In his time working the phones and knocking on doors, Porter Creek South MLA Don Inverarity said he detected a distinct Liberal tide in the downtown district.

"I think it's too close to call at this point,” said Inverarity, among the first to arrive for the post-election party. "Obviously, I'm cautiously optimistic.”

With the hook off an eyebrow and a telling grin after word of the NDP landslide arrived, Inverarity defined his cautious optimism.

In all four polling districts from north to south, and in the advance poll, Hanson mopped up.

Of the 687 residents who cast ballots, 52 per cent sided with the NDP leader while 26 per cent voted for Cameron and 22 per cent for Nixon.

Going back over the years to the days of Roger Kimmerly and Margaret Commodore (Joe) in the early 1980s and early '90s, the downtown area has provided the New Democrats with something of a stronghold.

The Liberals, however, held the south side of the downtown in the mid-1990s and early 2000s when former Liberal MLAs Jack Cable and Scott Kent controlled the young riding of Riverside.

Former Liberal MLA Mike McLarnon, also born and raised in the downtown area, squeezed out Hardy in Whitehorse Centre in 2000.

But since the boundaries were redrawn again for the 2002 general election, in the wake of a short-lived Liberal government, Whitehorse Centre has been leaning to the left.

Cameron and Mitchell agree it's one thing to have a byelection when the result won't affect the balance of power in the legislative assembly.

The Liberal candidate said not only was he taking on a party leader, but he was also campaigning in the shadow of Hardy's legacy.

In the pending general election, it will not only be about the individual, but about the party, the stripe of government Yukoners will want for the next five years, he said.

"I put myself out there and people now have a better sense of who I am,” said Cameron, adding that if he runs again, he'll have the Liberal platform by his side.

Shortly after learning the results, and before Cameron arrived at the KABABery, Mitchell said Cameron had always recognized this might be a two-shot affair, like it has been for many politicians, including himself.

"Now he needs some time . . . and then he'll be out knocking on doors again.”

While congratulating Cameron for his run at the riding, the party leader leaned over and reminded him the next Liberal caucus meeting is Wednesday morning.

"I expect to see you there,” he said. "You are still part of this caucus.”