Well-known local candidates shake up otherwise humdrum byelection in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex

For voters, spring and summer byelections are all too easy to ignore. 

On May 2, electors in the sprawling and mainly rural Ontario riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex will head to the polls. 

The vote comes at a time when there are many other things to occupy voters, everything from planning summer vacations to watching the Leafs in the NHL playoffs. 

CBC News spent some time travelling through the riding, speaking with candidates and voters. 

And while one voter not intending to vote called this a "bye election," here's a list factors shaping what could be a more-interesting-than-usual spring race.

On the surface, the riding has all the hallmarks of a PC safe seat. The byelection became necessary when MPP Monte McNaughton quit in September to take a job with Woodbine Entertainment. 

McNaughton had held the riding since 2011. His family has strong ties to the region and he served in Doug Ford's cabinet. 

Steve Pinsonneault, a Chatham-Kent city councillor first elected in 2006, is running for the Progressive Conservatives.

Challenging him and making the jump to provincial politics is Cathy Burghardt-Jesson, another seasoned municipal politician who's currently the mayor of Lucan-Biddulph and deputy warden of the regional municipality of Middlesex County.

The NDP candidate is Kathryn Shailer, a retired educator who lives in Alvinston. 

Brian Ropp is the mayor of North Middlesex and knows the riding well. 

"Burghardt-Jesson coming in has made this a more interesting race," said Ropp, who's worked with her at the municipal level. "It's been Progressive Conservative for a long while because Monte McNaughton has represented us so well and he was very popular, but this time I think people are also looking at the person running, not just the party." 

Cameron Anderson is a professor of political science at Western University. 

He said he'd be surprised to see the PCs lose, but also said byelections have a level of uncertainty due to low voter turnout and other factors.