Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has won another straw poll, according to a statement issued by the Madison Liberty group late Sunday.
The statement is as follows:
The presidential election came early for JMU.
The Madison Liberty group conducted the poll on the commons, inviting all JMU students to vote for one of five potential presidential candidates: President Barack Obama, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Students also could submit a write-in vote. About 97 students voted in the hour-long poll.
Lucas Wachob, a junior public policy and administration major and president of Madison Liberty, hopes to spread awareness of the election to students.
“Doing it earlier in the process makes sense because you have the chance to vote for someone like Ron Paul, who already said he won’t run as a third-party candidate and probably won’t make the ballot,” Wachob said.
The 10-12 active members of Madison Liberty were interested in seeing where the candidates stood in comparison to the last general election.
“As we face an unprecedented level of national debt, younger voters are starting to realize the implications of the government’s problems on their own lives,” Madison Liberty posted on its blog. “Students tend to overwhelmingly oppose the wars in the Middle East and support legalization of marijuana.”
“It’s going to be biased towards people who pay a lot of attention to it,” said Wachob, who voted for Paul. “When it comes to the general election, I think more people are going to vote because they feel they have to.”
Any member of the Madison Liberty club who came by the poll was allowed to vote.
Stephanie Salomon, a freshman political science major, participated in the straw poll.
“I think the longer the battle goes on between Romney and Gingrich, the better for Obama,” Salomon said. “I think Santorum and Paul don’t really stand a chance against the other two.”
Some students felt uncomfortable publicly talking about their vote because of criticism they might receive. But Salomon explained her motivation behind her vote for Obama.
“I believe that there is a growing divide between rich and poor and that the middle class is shrinking because of current tax codes,” Salomon said. “I believe in equal rights, no matter who you are.”
Sarah Prescott, a sophomore international affairs major, believes Paul is the only Republican candidate who is serious about the economy’s debt.
“I believe that’s one of the things that will influence young people,” Prescott said. “I like his foreign policy. A lot of people call him an isolationist, but I believe that’s inaccurate. “
Prescott added that she thinks Paul is respectful of other nations, which she believes will save young Americans from going overseas.
Madison Liberty also promotes strong discussions about politics.
“We work on any sort of individual rights issues,” Wachob said. “We do discussion each week. We bring in guest speakers, and we debate with other clubs.”
Wachob said the libertarian club welcomes anybody, regardless of viewpoint, to all of its activities.
“Everyone can come and speak their mind,” said club member Reid Walker, a junior international affairs and Spanish double major.
The group will wait for the declaration of a GOP nominee before deciding whether they want to poll.
