Don't count Ted Morton out.

It looks as if Morton, the former University of Calgary professor who once described himself as "every liberal's nightmare, a right-winger with a PhD," will be the only survivor from the 2006 race to replace Premier Ed Stelmach as leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party.

The current Alberta Tory leadership race is shaping up as a battle for the heart and soul of the party between the neo-conservative far right, represented by Morton, and more moderate Red Tories, represented by virtually everyone else in the race except maybe Doug Griffiths.

The release of a reputable Environics poll yesterday shows Ed Stelmach's Alberta Conservatives are still ahead of the Wildrose Alliance party, if only by a nose.

Does this mean Alberta's media -- which loves a horserace, even at the expense of accuracy -- will stop saying the far-right Alliance led by former journalist Danielle Smith "is leading the government in public opinion polls across the province"? After all, until yesterday there'd only been one poll that put the Wildrose Alliance is in the lead, and it was based on controversial methodology.