Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidates from the “Together LSU” and “Defining Our Future” tickets will face off in next Tuesday’s runoff elections after initial election results were announced Wednesday afternoon amid the candidates’ cheers and cries.
Cody Wells and Kathleen Bordelon of “Together LSU” won 48.7 percent of the vote, totaling 2,879 votes, and David Jones and Kacey Brister of “Defining Our Future” won 29.7 percent of the vote, amounting to 1,755 votes.
The “NOW” ticket’s presidential and vice presidential contenders, Aaron Caffarel and Alli Robison, earned 16.5 percent of the vote with 973 votes. Garrett Dupre and Jarrett Richard of “Open Source” earned 5.1 percent with 301 votes.
Wells and Bordelon attributed their votes to the “team effort” of their campaign, calling it a “grassroots” effort. Bordelon said she and Wells will try to ensure whomever initially voted for them votes for them again in the runoff election.
“We came 1.3 percent away from winning it outright, and I think that really speaks volumes about our team and what we want to accomplish for the students here,” Wells said.
Bordelon said she and Wells may change the placement of their campaign tents to attract more voters, but other than that, they will not change their campaign.
“Support from other people will really help in pushing us to getting the 50 percent that we need to win,” Bordelon said.
Jones and Brister said they still believe the student body will elect to “define their future.”
“In a one-on-one situation, when there aren’t so many good candidates in the field to choose from and the vote split isn’t so much of a disparity, when it comes down to that 50 or 50, whoever gets the most votes out of 50 percent, I think we have a shot,” Jones said.
Brister complimented both the Together LSU and NOW campaigns, saying they were “phenomenal.” Jones and Brister said they will strengthen their campaign to attract more votes in the runoffs.
“We saw some things that worked, we saw some things that could have worked a little differently, and we’re going to make the necessary changes,” Jones said.
All runoff election candidates expressed their pride for the individuals who ran on their campaigns and won positions or advanced to runoff elections, saying they will continue to collaborate.
“We’re excited, but we’re not going to slack this week,” Wells said.
Jones said the experience has been humbling because “you are going to peers and asking them to vote for you and asking them to place their education and their future in your hands.”
Caffarel declined to interview but Robison spoke in his place, also emphasizing her happiness for her candidates.
“We had some great candidates elected today,” she said. “We picked some great people who are ready to serve LSU now. We wouldn’t have changed anything.”
Robison said she and Caffarel tried “really hard,” and she said their staff and candidates were “great.”
“Aaron and I are going to continue to serve LSU now,” she said.
Robison said she and Caffarel’s “NOW” ticket will not endorse another candidate.
Dupre said he and Richard knew they “only had a shot in the dark at winning,” but they also would not have “done anything differently.” Dupre said they will endorse the Jones and Brister ticket.
Richard was not available for an interview.
The total voter turnout for this year’s presidential and vice presidential elections was 5,908. The Office of Budget and Planning reported the University had 27,027 students on Feb. 11, making this year’s voter turnout about 22 percent.
Last year’s voter turnout was 5,315, amounting to 19 percent.
Current SG Vice President Dani Borel reported the University had the lowest voter turnout in the Southeastern Conference after attending an SEC SG exchange. Borel said this year’s voter turnout can be a “stepping-stone” for the future.
“I’m happy that it increased,” she said. “I don’t think anyone should be happy with the level that it’s at.”
The other SG positions that were announced were senate seats and college council presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and treasurers. Several of the winners will be determined after the runoff elections, though some won outright.
 
____
Contact Andrea Gallo at [email protected]