Texas State Student Government elections closed Feb. 21 with Benbow-Thompson winning by majority vote, according to the Election Board.
President-elect Corey Benbow garnered 61 percent of the total 1,977 presidential ballots, and Vice President-elect Tucker Thompson garnered 61 percent of the total 1,923 vice presidential ballots. Additionally, several one- and two-year senator elects were announced. There were a total of 2,066 votes cast, which is 5 percent of the student body. The results have not yet been released online but were certified by Election Board Chair Joshua Clarke.
“Tonight the student body overwhelmingly won,” Benbow said in a post-announcement interview with The Star. “We ran a tough race and we’re ready to hit the ground running. I appreciate the student body participating. It’s time we had a student body president who put the students’ interest first.”
The Benbow-Thompson campaign, which ran under the slogan ‘Bobcats Better Together’, defeated the Plunkett-Torpey campaign, which ran under the ‘Stand Up Students’ slogan. Early in the campaign season, presidential candidate Matthew Gonzalez and vice presidential candidate Alison Castillo withdrew following staffing controversies.
The Benbow-Thompson ticket focused on six primary pillars throughout its campaign: equitable representation, transparency, safety, preserving and promoting Fraternity and Sorority Life, raising mental health awareness, and working with parking services to prevent predatory ticketing. Benbow and Thompson will be sworn in following the end of the Castillo-Freund administration at the end of the semester.
“I’d like to thank the students who voted for us, it wouldn’t have been possible without them,” Thompson said. “We’re going to be working much harder now that we are officially president and vice president.”
Student Government Elections Results
President: Corey Benbow – 1,202 votes
Vice President: Tucker Thompson – 1,182 votes
1-Year Liberal Arts Senator: Marliza Marin – 118 votes
2-Year Applied Arts Senator: Cody DeSalvo – 89 votes
1-Year Science Senator: Chandan Howlader – 142 votes
1-Year At-Large Senator: David Moncada – 323 votes
1-Year At-Large Senator: Rica Angela Llagas – 315 votes
1-Year At-Large Senator: Jules Perrodin – 304 votes
1-Year At-Large Senator: Collin Thigpen – 280 votes
2-Year At-Large Senator: Andrew Florence – 422 votes
2-Year At-Large Senator: Samuel Newman – 337 votes
2-Year At-Large Senator: Jacob Cleveland – 307 votes
Write-in candidates that won are not currently listed. Once the Office of the Dean of Students confirms these senator-elects meet the requirements, they will be announced.
News Editor Sandra Sadek contributed to this story.
