Immediately following his loss in the Student Government presidential election Wednesday, Renew LSU’s Bat Brunner told The Daily Reveille he would support Be Heard’s Taylor Cox and Carrie Hebert.
Cox and Hebert ordered new pushcards bearing the Renew LSU endorsement logo, which were then rendered useless when Brunner and his running mate Madeleine Davis revoked their endorsement Thursday.
“I considerately decline to comment regarding any type of endorsement out of sincere respect for both tickets, and Bat and I wish them all the very best,” Davis wrote in a text message.
Brunner did not return The Daily Reveille’s four phone messages requesting comment.
Brunner and Davis previously told The Daily Reveille three times – in person, by phone and via e-mail – that they would support Be Heard. Be Heard campaign manager Thomas Rodgers confirmed that Renew LSU had retracted its endorsement, and Cox confirmed that he and Hebert must now order new pushcards.
“The last thing I heard from Bat is he’s staying neutral,” Rodgers said.
Be Heard’s other campaign manager, Khristen Jones, said she doesn’t know why Renew LSU rescinded their endorsement.
Before this week’s general election, the Renew LSU and Be Heard tickets had visited one another’s sorority and fraternity houses as “friends,” Cox said.
“There had been some talk of supporting one another, but nothing had been finalized,” Cox said.
Brunner and Davis wore Be Heard stickers after it was announced Wednesday that Be Heard and Your LSU would move on the runoff, according to Cox.
“They said, ‘Congratulations. We would want nothing more than to support you until the end of your race,'” Cox said.
Davis e-mailed the Renew LSU logo to Cox with her permission to use it on any Be Heard materials early Thursday morning, according to Cox.
But Brunner wrote a statement Thursday afternoon saying he and Davis no longer supported Be Heard and wished to remain neutral. He gave the statement to Cox.
After The Daily Reveille printed Renew LSU’s support for Be Heard, Brunner woke Your LSU presidential candidate Landon Hester on Thursday morning with an apologetic phone call, Hester said.
Brunner denied the endorsement, despite his three previous confirmations to the contrary.
“He did not say he did not support Be Heard. … He was going to remain neutral,” Hester said. “He came to me and sincerely apologized for that being printed.”
Numerous sources told The Daily Reveille that Brunner met with current SG President Cody Wells early Thursday, before Brunner announced he would revoke the endorsement.
Wells confirmed he met with Brunner on Thursday, but he declined to comment on what they discussed.
Sometime between Brunner’s call to Hester and Renew LSU’s meeting with Be Heard to cancel the endorsement, Wells and Vice President Kathleen Bordelon announced they would support Your LSU’s Hester and Kristina Lagasse.
“They’re experienced, they’re dedicated and Landon has what it takes to become the next LSU student body president, especially amid this financial crisis,” Wells said.
Bordelon said she chose to support Hester and Lagasse because of personal relationships.
“Landon is one of my very best friends. … I’ve worked with him this past year [as deputy chief of staff],” Bordelon said.
Lagasse is Bordelon’s sorority sister, and Bordelon called that bond special.
“She has that same passion … to better LSU,” Bordelon said.
The R.E.A.L. Campaign’s Joshua and Joseph Hollins also announced Thursday they would endorse Your LSU.
All SG members emphasized they only speak for themselves and not for the organization as an entity.
 
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Contact Danielle Kelley at [email protected]