Students push for candidates as Tuesday's election nears
On Tuesday, Michigan voters will decide who they want to represent them in the 2008 presidential race.
And at CMU, students already have been gearing up for this year's election.
Many groups have started campaigning on campus for their respective candidates.
One group, Students for Romney, made phone calls to potential voters last week, encouraging them to vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Michigan native.
"Gov. Romney could be an effective change agent in Washington," said Topinabee junior Dennis Lennox, chairman of the group. "He is the only principled conservative in the election."
Lennox said Gov. Romney is showing concern toward Michigan, in particular.
America needs someone from outside Washington like Romney, Lennox said.
"We are just sick of Washington insiders," he said.
Democrats face an additional challenge in the primaries. Because of the early date of Michigan primaries, a number of Democrats will not appear as delegates on the ballot.
"Michigan wanted to get away from the tradition of Iowa and New Hampshire having primaries first," said Matt Sous, Freeland junior and president of the College Democrats. "We got penalized for it, but if we get our delegates back, I think it could be worth it."
Barack Obama is among the Democrats who will not appear on the ballot.
"You can write him in if you want to vote for him," said Essexville sophomore Katie Johnson, co-coordinator of Students for Barack Obama.
Johnson said the remaining top Democrats, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, look neck-and-neck for the bid.
"Clinton is right behind Obama and, since he's not on the ballot, I think she will probably win in Michigan," Johnson said.
Karl Bouwhuis, Lowell senior and vice president of College Democrats, said despite the limited number of delegates, there still is a point for Democrats to go to the polls on Tuesday.
"The Michigan Democratic primary doesn't really count, but it could influence future primaries," he said.
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