So it's over...

... and Greg Selinger was sworn in as the new Premier today. The convention went smoothly, with no shenanigans, and Ashton gave a gracious concession speech.

The next order of business will probably be a cabinet shuffle. Mary Agnes Welch has some speculations on the matter; many of them make sense, but there's a problem:

Rosann Wowchuk: Word is, she could be finance minister. As agriculture minister, she sat beside Selinger for years at treasury board meetings and took over all his files when he resigned to run for leader. And she holds a rural seat, which the NDP needs to keep.

Makes perfect sense, and Wowchuk is highly competent, but who would replace her in Agriculture? The most likely candidates are Stan Struthers and Ron Lemieux. Between the two, Struthers is probably the most likely choice... but Welch has picked him for Education. An oversight, or does Welch know something we don't?

The first official candidate...

... is Andrew Swan. As well, at the press conference where he announced his candidacy, he was endorsed by Oswald and Struthers, so we know they're not running either. Also endorsing him was Nancy Allan, and according to Endless Spin Cycle backbenchers Erin Selby, Sharon Blady, and Bonnie Korzeniowski were also there.

As of writing, nobody else has declared yet.

The field narrows

Well, nobody's officially entered the race for Premier yet, though now that a convention date has been set that's about to change. Theresa Oswald, in a radio interview a few minutes ago, said that she'd be announcing her decision tomorrow, and others are likely to make their decision then as well (assuming they haven't already decided). Several have announced that they're not running, though. Judy Wasylycia-Leis, Nancy Allan, and Christine Melnick are all out, and today Bill Blaikie also announced that he won't be running. So who's left? Well, besides Oswald, Ashton, and Selinger, some have mentioned Family Services and Housing minister Gord Mackintosh, Conservation minister Stan Struthers, and Justice minister Dave Chomiak. Less likely, but mentioned in some articles, are Healthy Living minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and Rossmere MLA Bidhu Jha. And apparently Pat Martin hasn't ruled out a run either, though I personally wouldn't bet on it.

So who will win? Beats me. There are a lot of good candidates in that list; hopefully the best person will win. Maybe after tomorrow we'll have a better idea.

PS: Devin Johnston is keeping score here.