A night of Timberwolves basketball, music and chatting with friends came to a sudden halt as the final tallies of the all-campus elections came in at Argyle House late Thursday night.
Minnesota Student Association presidential candidate Corey Donovan and running mate Kiaora Bohlool’s run for the top spots in undergraduate student government ended in disappointment, as they learned they only received 672 votes. Victors Jigar Madia and Bridgette Murphy received 931 votes.
Donovan said he was a bit surprised, and somewhat disappointed.
“We should only congratulate Bridgette and Jigar,” Donovan said. “But we are the real winners in this room. We don’t have anything to hang our heads about.”
Bohlool, an MSA College of Liberal Arts senator, said she was also upset by the loss, but that a lesson was learned.
“Things don’t always work out the way you want them to,” Bohlool said. “That’s part of life.”
Madia worked hard and earned the victory, Donovan said. He congratulated the victors in a speech immediately after the late call, which came in at 11:20 p.m.
Donovan and Bohlool split the four early major endorsements with Madia and Murphy. Donovan received the U-DFL and the residence hall endorsements. Madia and Murphy also received two endorsements in the early stages of the campaign, and received endorsement from The Minnesota Daily on Tuesday.
While setting goals to stabilize tuition and gain access to student’s evaluations of teachers, the Donovan ticket was very open in campaign literature about not having a “jam-packed agenda set in stone.”
The Madia-Murphy ticket has a list of 12 goals, some of which could be difficult to attain, given MSA’s lack of status in the University power structure.
However, Bohlool did not believe that a less-defined platform was a hindrance to their chances.
Unity was the key to the Donovan and Bohlool ticket, as both are Democrats. Madia, who calls himself a moderate Republican and Murphy, a self-proclaimed liberal, make for a more unlikely pair of candidates.
Donovan and Bohlool sought the U-DFL endorsement three weeks ago, and won that by a wide margin. They promised throughout the campaign to uphold Democratic ideals in the MSA Forum.
Donovan and Bohlool said they are likely to be involved in campus activities next year, but neither candidate said they were sure about returning to MSA again. However Donovan said the group is in good hands.
“Be prepared for the young leaders on this (campaign) team,” he said. “These are the people who will lead MSA next year.”