Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama won the MSU Decision ’08 mock election held Tuesday. Obama won the student-only vote with 52 percent of the vote.
The election was sponsored by the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, MSU Student Association, Black Student Alliance, Pre-Law Society and the Stennis-Montgomery Association.
Leonia Fowler, Holmes Cultural Diversity Center graduate assistant, said the organizations involved in the event helped make sure students of all ethnicities and political ideologies knew about the election.
“All of these organizations are connected to a diverse group of students,” Fowler said.
The notion of a student-held election began in the summer. Fowler said she and a peer counselor ambassador created the concept not knowing how the MSU student body would vote.
“I am not sure how the voting will go [on Election Day],” she said. “Mississippi as a state is leaning toward the Republican Party but I don’t know if that is because of the older crowd. Since this is a university, it may break towards choosing Obama.”
Research assistant and public administration graduate student at St. Louis University Paul Woodruff said Obama’s win on the MSU campus could signify an ideological shift starting to take place in the South.
“I think you can look at an Obama win [on campus] in a number of ways,” Woodruff said. “Obama has been very compelling in getting his argument across to students. Adding to this, I think it may be the McCain campaign failing to excite its base of conservative young voters.”
Senior business administration major Casy McNemar said he hopes the nation follows suit with Mississippi in showing strong support for McCain.
“I voted for John McCain because of his military experience and political knowledge based on issues that are and should be important to all Americans,” McNemar said. “Unlike Barack Obama, I believe that McCain will better achieve success with the most pressing issues at hand because of his seasoned skills.”
Obama’s win came as no surprise to local political observers. Obama’s popularity with young voters and at college campuses across the country is what many pollsters believe could be a key to a Tuesday win.
With Election Day looming, both McCain and Obama are striving to appeal to all demographics, especially young voters.
Former MSU College Democrats President W.C. McClendon said an Obama victory on campus signifies how well he will do nationally with the youth vote.
“He [Obama] is able to relate to us on a more personal note and has many initiatives that seem to benefit us in the long run,” McClendon.