Students who wait until the last minute to enter the race for the top offices in the Minnesota Student Association might find themselves at a disadvantage as two more major endorsements were handed out Wednesday night.
The U-DFL and Students Against Fee Excess split their endorsements between the two tickets who have already filed for the election. Presidential candidate Corey Donovan and running mate Kiaora Bohlool received the U-DFL endorsement and then snubbed the Students Against Fee Excess by deciding not to attend their endorsement meeting.
Gaining endorsements is critical for winning the April 23-24 election. Presidential candidate Jigar Madia and running mate Bridgette Murphy also spoke at the U-DFL meeting, but took home the SAFE endorsement later in the night.
The deadline for declaring for the race is Friday, but the number of student groups that have already made their endorsements is now three. The Interfraternity and Panhellenic Council, which represents about 1,200 greeks on campus, endorsed Madia and Murphy Tuesday.
Donovan, the MSA academic affairs committee chair, expressed satisfaction with the U-DFL endorsement, his ticket’s first of the campaign.
“I feel like we are the Democratic Party candidates,” Donovan said. “I feel I will represent U-DFL ideals.”
Bohlool, who is a MSA College of Liberal Arts senator, said she was also happy with the win. “It makes me real proud,” she said. “I think we have a good bunch of people behind us.”
The Students Against Fee Excess endorsement was not important, Donovan said. “SAFE is basically the republican endorsement,” he said.
But Madia and Murphy spoke at the SAFE meeting where they won the endorsement on a unanimous voice vote of about 20 students.
Madia, speaker of the MSA forum and a self-proclaimed moderate Republican, told the members of the group that he will work to keep student service fees low, which is one of the major goals of SAFE. Murphy, a self-proclaimed liberal democrat, said she balances out the ticket and will fight for student issues, not partisan issues.
“Students are tired of partisan bickering,” Madia said. “When leadership is bipartisan, it will be a mandate from the people to MSA to get things done.”
Murphy is the only candidate among the four who is not a member of MSA. However, Murphy said she is qualified because of her work in the community.
“I’m not political; I just want what is best for the students,” Murphy said.