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Student Government presidential candidates Dixon McMakin and Colorado Robertson will meet in a runoff election next week because neither candidate received a majority of the student vote in Wednesday’s general election. Senate Speaker Robertson and his running mate Shannon Bates of “The Foundation” ticket received the plurality with 48.7 percent of the vote, while SG Director of Athletics McMakin and his running mate Kristen Oaks of the “Vision 2008” ticket finished second with 45.9 percent. SG presidential candidate Taylor Craft and his vice presidential candidate Wesleigh McLeod of the “Do Nothing” ticket received 5.4 percent of the vote. Although more than 27,000 students had the opportunity to vote Wednesday, 6,925 students voted for student body president and vice president. Robertson said student reception gave him a feeling “The Foundation” would be ahead in the polls. But he said he is not slowing down and plans to work until next Wednesday for that “one little push.” He said he plans to stick to the strategy he has used for the past four weeks – trying to have a conversation with as many students as possible. “But we do plan to try to talk to student organizations next week,” Robertson said. Bates, mass communication junior, jumped up in excitement when she read the numbers. “We thought it would be close, but I had no idea it was that close,” Bates said. Bates said “The Foundation” plans to mobilize its campaign staff in the next few days to increase campaigning creativity. McMakin said though he wishes he was not behind in the numbers, the results have motivated him to amp up his campaign in the next week. And he said he is prepared for the runoff – an election he says usually has lower voter turnout. “We will have to stick to doing what has been successful for us, and we will have to make sure morning, afternoon and night we are talking to students,” McMakin said. Oaks, senator for the College of Agriculture, became misty-eyed when runoff results were announced. “It has been an emotional week – not sleeping, not eating – and I was just so ready for it to be done,” Oaks said. Oaks expected a close race, but she said the numbers surprised her. She said she is confident the results will be in favor of “Vision 2008” next week. Craft and McLeod, history sophomores, said they do not really care about losing. “We got close to 400 votes which is more than what we thought,” Craft said. Craft said his “Do Nothing” members, consisting only of himself and McLeod, endorse “The Foundation.” “I really like [Robertson]. He actually cares,” Craft said. Craft said he is considering running in the next SG election because he enjoyed the campaign experience. Though originally scheduled for announcement at the LSU Memorial Tower, SG elections commissioner Jacob Gower announced the results in Lockett at 6 p.m. Thursday. Anxious students vying for other SG offices packed into a classroom before the top offices were announced. Candidates contending to serve as a University Court Justice will also go head-to-head in next week’s runoff election. Curtis White of “Vision 2008” led with 12.8 percent of the vote and will compete against Aaron Phipps of “The Foundation” who received 12.4 percent. Jessica Chatelain swept the race with 20.2 percent, while Parker Maxwell also received a position with 16.8 percent. Both Chatelain and Maxwell will represent “Vision 2008” as a University Court Justice. Though only 262 students voted for candidates running for Mass Communication Treasurer, Caroline Barnes of “The Foundation” and Kat Ingram of “Vision 2008” will also compete in a runoff. Ingram came out ahead with 44.3 percent of the vote and Barnes received 39.7 percent of the vote. The fourth runoff will decide who serves as Mass Communication College Council President. Joe Coussan of “The Foundation” and Michael Laborde of “Vision 2008” will compete for the position, though Coussan received the plurality with 46.6 percent of the vote while Laborde received 28.9 percent of the 266 votes. Whitney Breaux, senator for the Manship School of Mass Communication, received only 24.4 percent of the total vote. For a complete list of all college council senators who were elected, check out the Reveille’s Web site. SG president Cassie Alsfeld said she was relieved to be on the flip side of the results announcement this year. “But I am definitely empathetic toward both sides because I was there last year,” Alsfeld said. Alsfeld said she is impressed with the clean campaigns of all three tickets and the increased voter turn out this year compared to years past. The runoff election between “Vision 2008” and “The Foundation” will be Wednesday, April 9 from 8 a.m. to 9:59 p.m. Students can log on to their PAWS account and select “Student Services” to select their preferred ticket.
—-Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]