After a decision he says took a lot of thought, former PC leader Patrick Brown has bowed out of provincial politics. His message on Twitter Thursday night reading “I will not be running in the upcoming provincial election.”

The message came just minutes after the party’s provincial nomination committee unanimously decided to block brown from running in Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte.

Today, Garfield Dunlop, the veteran MPP who resigned so Brown could seek a seat at Queen’s Park, announced he wants his job back, in the newly created riding.

“This is really now about winning the next election, and not about party in-fighting,” said Dunlop on Friday. “So I think I’d be a pretty good person to unify the party throughout Simcoe County.”

The Dunlops are well known in the region. Daughter Jill is the official P-C candidate in Simcoe North, and his wife Jane is a Councillor in Severn Township. 

But Dunlop is not the only former politician who’s itching for a comeback. Former Barrie MPP Rod Jackson is also considering entering the nomination race.

“I had an opportunity to be there for a few years and do a lot of really good things, and I think I want a chance to finish off what I started,” says Jackson.

Multiple sources also tell CTV Barrie that current MP Alex Nuttall is also considering throwing his name into the race.

Executives with the riding association say they’re hoping a wide-range of high-quality candidates will help the party put turmoil surrounding Brown behind them.

“We desperately need a quality candidate to cause regime change at Queen’s Park. We need to kick out the provincial liberal party,” says Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte Riding Association VP Scott Macpherson,

Brown has said he is still committed to the conservative movement and to his community.