With less than three months to go until Election Day, Premier Christy Clark's Liberals are betting on a major come-from-behind surge to wipe out the New Democratic Party's lead in the polls.

It's a tall order, but it wouldn't be the first time voters have shifted that much, that fast.

"Things can change very quickly," said Angus Reid pollster Mario Canseco. Even when an Opposition party enters an election campaign with a healthy lead, voters can abandon it if they decide the party isn't ready to govern.

For the past several years, the NDP has held a robust lead over the BC Liberals in the polls. Although the lead has dropped from highs of 20 points or more, the most recent polls still show the NDP up by 10 to 15 percentage points.

But headlines like "Hudak Tories Roaring Toward a Majority: Poll" and "Danielle Smith's Wildrose on Track for Majority" suggest just how volatile voters can be. And headlines like "'We Were Wrong': Alberta Election Pollsters Red-faced as Tories Crush Wildrose" serve as a reminder that polls are a snapshot in time, not a forecast…

Editor: Read the rest of Tom Barrett's exclusive Tyee feature today on historic political comebacks that inspire Christy Clark's Liberals and give New Dems nightmares by clicking here.

Tom Barrett is a Tyee contributing editor. Read his previous Tyee stories here.