Though the NDP made significant inroads in last night’s election, it wasn’t enough to propel Thomas King into a seat in Parliament. The renowned author and budding politico lost badly in his hometown riding of Guelph, coming in fourth with a mere 9,709 votes. (The winner was Liberal candidate Frank Valeriote, who received 18,977 votes.)

Here’s how the Guelph Mercury assessed King’s electoral performance today:

The quickest one out of the gates back in the summer was Tom King. With the full support of New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton, who visited this city at a regular clip right through the summer, King had plenty of momentum that made him a threat to take the byelection. But it seemed as soon as we switched to general-election mode, the wind left King’s campaign.