The results of the student body president and vice president runoff elections were announced Thursday in Talley Student Union. Jackie Gonzalez, a junior studying political science, and Mia Connell, a sophomore studying sociology, won the race with 64.4 percent of the votes, beating out candidates Brad Barbee, a junior studying statistics, and Jack Pashby, a senior studying nuclear engineering, for the positions.
Student Senate runoff results were also announced: Belton Moore, a sophomore studying management, won the Poole College of Management Senate seat by 52.6 percent; Simone Tucker, a freshman studying political science, won the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Senate seat by 64.03 percent; and Josh Mitchell, a sophomore studying engineering, won the College of Engineering Senate seat by 53.23 percent. The runoffs were held because no single candidate won 40 percent of the votes for their respective position during the initial election on Tuesday.
Gonzalez and Connell’s campaign centered on issues such as sexual assault, diversity and education. Both expressed how grateful they were for their campaign team and the numerous people who supported them along the way.
“My team was incredible,” Gonzalez said. “These people literally spent hours [working] and I want to thank anyone that donated, people I didn’t even know donated money for us.”
Their campaign team continuously grew throughout the race, and that was something both Gonzalez and Connell were proud of.
“I want to thank everyone from our original campaign team, and the campaign team as it expanded,” Connell said. “We could not have done this without the 20, 30 people that were out there all day today and all day during the original election.”
Gonzalez and Connell expressed their thanks to everyone who voted and supported them in the race.
“Thank you to everyone who believed in us and believed in our vision for Student Government because without that we obviously would not have won, and for everyone that supported us in one way or another, it obviously showed in the results,” Connell said.
John Taylor Willis, a junior studying management and student body treasurer-elect, was in attendance and expressed his thoughts on both parties.
“Brad and Jack did an amazing job of running,” Willis said. “They campaigned hard, and that’s something you have to respect, and I respect them. I’m happy that Jackie and Mia won, I have a great working relationship with them, and I think they’ll do a great job.”
While both Gonzalez and Connell are exhausted from hard campaigning, they are both ready to hit the ground running.
“I’m going to try to sleep, but I’m also going to get to work,” Gonzalez said. “Transition starts right now.”
Supporters celebrate after it is announced that president and vice president candidates Jackie Gonzalez, a junior studying political science, and Mia Connell, a sophomore studying sociology, respectively, won the runoff election. Election results were announced in Talley Student Union on March 2, 2017 and included the winners of runoff races for senate seats in the Poole College of Management, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Engineering.
