Two opposing candidates for a Student Senate seat said they will vote for the same presidential candidate — one who is running on neither of their tickets.
RSVP’s Jared Henderson and FACE’s Isaac Smith, who are both running to represent the Honors Tutorial College, have said they will be voting for HTC Senator Chris Wagner as next year’s president.
Wagner entered the Student Senate presidential race as a write-in candidate Monday afternoon, leaving only one full day of campaigning to convince students to vote for him before the election started this morning.
Smith said he plans to vote for Wagner because Wagner is in tune with the student body.
“To be perfectly honest, I think Chris will do a better job,” Smith said.
Wagner splits the line between the two parties, Smith said, noting he combines RSVP presidential candidate Kyle Triplett’s administrative experience with FACE presidential candidate Matthew Wallace’s ability to relate to students, while adding a wealth of senate knowledge.
Henderson agreed that Wagner’s experience on senate would help him.
“I think Chris is the better candidate for the students of OU,” he said, adding that Wagner has both experience and passion for student government. “He understands that it’s not just enough to pass a resolution.”
Wagner said he began his campaign Monday afternoon as a statement against the negative campaigning that has defined this year’s election season, adding that the speed at which the campaign grew surprised him.
“I’m more optimistic than I was at the beginning,” Wagner said.
“I don’t want to call it ‘grassroots,’ but it’s my Facebook event and word of mouth.” A Facebook event titled “Write-in Christopher Wagner for Student Senate President” had more than 600 attending as of yesterday evening.
Wagner’s last-minute candidacy has prompted interest from members of both parties, but few candidates have switched allegiance, said RSVP supporter and current Residence Life Commissioner Johnny O’Dell.
“Kyle (Triplett)’s put a lot into this and (Chris) just kind of came out at the last minute,” he said. “ … it seems a little bit selfish, almost.
“Kyle deserves it for how much work he put into it.”
Henderson said breaking the party line doesn’t concern him too much because he is not a member of RSVP because of its platform.
“I was already on the ticket … by the time I was given a platform,” he said. “Kyle and I are two different candidates with different opinions on the issues.”
RSVP vice presidential candidate Roger Jones said Wagner will gain a lot of votes from students who were not planning to vote but probably will not eclipse Triplett or Wallace.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be overwhelming,” he said, adding that he had worked with Wagner before and would like to incorporate him on senate.
“Kyle is my president,” he said.
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