 She increased the margin of victory from the 2006 by-election.When Howard Hampton announced he was stepping down as leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party in June 2008, DiNovo was one of four MPPs, along with Michael Prue, Peter Tabuns and Andrea Horwath, whose names were suggested by party insiders as potential candidates in the 2009 Ontario NDP leadership convention.However, she was quoted in the "Toronto Star" a few days later as saying that she was unlikely to be a candidate, and she subsequently endorsed Tabuns for the leadership.