I’m not going to lie, being a senior and seeing all these campaigns by the juniors is extremely depressing. Seeing the posters and the campaign videos brings me back to the days of my own (shortly lived) political career at Elder, and the days where I saw the memorable clash of Rinear and Tito. Considering their predecessors, the class of 2017 has some big shoes to fill, so let’s breakdown how some of the campaigns are going.

We’ll start off with an honorable mention, one Lucas “Walnuts” Downey and his banishment from the 2017 election. Downey took early advantage to use an ad of his campaign on a Purple Quill video, many that saw the video (like 100 people, not our best outing) already swore their vote to Walnuts. With the other candidates still preparing their presidential plans, they began to shake in their boots when they saw the early support Downey was getting.

“I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous,” nominee Adam Keller said. Keller’s video that played about a billion times during lunch and throughout the day was still in production, and he was showing an early decline in the pre-polls.

Downey was looking like he was going to become the cat’s pajamas of Elder High, but his dreams and plans were annihilated by Mr. Reiring. Reiring, mostly known for destroying all things fun around Elder, canned Downey because of “illegal political funds” that were found in his campaign savings.

“I was shocked, but mostly disappointed that he would show me up like this. Not a very reered thing for Reiring to do,” Downey said. Downey went on to swear he never took a dime from anyone during his shortly lived campaign, and that his intentions were only for the good of Elder. He swears that someone framed him, and that person might be Adam Keller.

If you’ve been in Elder the past couple weeks and aren’t blind/deaf, you’ve seen Keller’s video blaring in lunchroom. This video has given him the current edge in polls, and along with sticking “Vote for Keller pins” on people, Keller seems to be the guy to beat for the class of 2017.

“I think Adam Keller is a vote for the people,” one Elder sophomore who was not willing to give his name said. When asked why he wouldn’t give his name, he said that open Keller supporters were getting swirlies by students who have become anti-Keller.

“This is what this election has come to; slandering, money laundering,  and swirlies,” Keller said when he heard the news of his supporters being treated with such disrespect. Keller also told me that no toilet will stop his campaign, and he advised his supporters to stay strong and make it to the link on netclassroom when the time comes, no matter the forces that try to stop them.

Adam isn’t the only nominee that has seen a great increase since Downey was executed from the election. Connor Sullivan has found a steady following of students that he hopes will carry him to the promised land. Sullivan’s great use of multiple posters helped gain the support of former Downey supporters, and now puts him in great position to win the election.

“It feels great to have a lot of guys flocking to my side, and I hope I can be the president that Elder will talk about for years to come, in a good way of course,” Sullivan said. Connor also said that he believes his opponent Keller not only set Downey up, but isn’t the right fit for the Elder community. Sullivan says that Keller lacks the “it factor” that it takes to be the president, and many believe that is why Tito fell to Rinear last year.

Other candidates that hope their campaign can lead them to victory are Roman Lee, Joe Reiter, Andrew White, and Paxton Kelley. Roman Lee told me that although there is tough competition, if he can speak from his heart and simply be himself he feels he can make a run at winning the election.

“The key is being yourself, and showing others you care and back up what you’re saying to them,” Roman said. Roman also said he tried to create a collection of colorful posters to get the students attention, and hopes that along with his speech Tuesday morning, he will win him the election.

When it comes to grabbing votes from students, Andrew White feels he has a plan that revolves doing everything he can to continue to make Elder great. When White began his Elder career three years ago, he knew he was going to run for an elected position, and has been waiting for the opportunity like this.

“Since I was young I’ve always loved Elder, and I want to be able to be in a position where I can continue to make it great,” White said. Andrew also said that he plans on using current president and friend Jake Rinear as inspiration looking back at the way his campaign was constructed a year ago.

“I feel Jake has done a great job running Elder, and I want to continue to run it as well as him, but also implement my own ideas to make Elder better,” Andrew said.

I feel like its rule that there always has to be a Kelley running for office. The class of ’16 was blessed to have Duncan, and now the class of ’17 has Paxton. First of all, if your name is Paxton, your chances of winning increase by about 27%, just because it’s one of those names that sounds presidential. Although many support Paxton and his plan for Elder, some believe that Duncan, still upset over last year’s defeat, is secretly running his brother’s campaign in order to have a taste of the glory he missed out on by finishing in the bottom of the barrel in last year’s election. When asked, Paxton denied this, and said his political campaign is run by only himself.

This election has been one of the more exciting ones Elder has seen in a while. With so many contenders, it should be interesting to see who ends up on top of the student body for next year.