With the 2020 Presidential Election drawing near, The Yellow Jacket Newspaper is conducting a poll to see where students stand. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @wuyellowjacket and watch for our polling posts to participate.

 

In addition to a student poll, we will also be polling different student groups across campus to get their input on the election and issues around the nation. Their responses will run weekly in our Election Q&A.

 

This week, we polled the Student Senate, asking why they are supporting their preferred candidate, their most important issue, and their thoughts on the first Presidential Debate. We received three responses, all supporting different candidates. Their responses are in the order in which we received them.

 

***

 

Lachlan Loudon, junior Journalism and electronic media major – Supporting Jo Jorgensen

 

Q: Why are you supporting your preferred candidate?

A: “I am a libertarian and do not want to compromise my values if I were to vote for Trump or Biden. I want to topple the two-party system and encourage more compromise in Washington, which a libertarian will help facilitate. I believe that both parties are corrupt and continue to fail the American people with hyper-partisan warfare.”

 

Q: Which one issue is the most important to you right now? Why?

A: “Isolationism, healthcare and education; These issues have cost the U.S. trillions and a libertarian candidate would help end reckless spending and find much better mutually beneficial solutions to both workers and the middle class.”

 

Q: Who do you think performed best in the first Presidential Debate? Why?

A: “Joe Biden, because it was Donald Trump’s debate to lose and he made himself look like a fool. He failed to denounce white supremacy and he interrupted Biden and acted very unprofessional and his behavior was uncalled for. He also brought up Biden’s son’s drug addiction which was a very low shot. Biden kept his cool for the most part and let Trump ruin it for himself.”

 

Holly Ludvigsen, senior criminal justice major – Supporting Joe Biden

 

Q: Why are you supporting your preferred candidate?

A: “His policies more closely align with my opinions. I like his idea for a public healthcare option, desire for criminal justice reform, and emphasis on the environment. I think he’s a significantly better person than Trump.”

 

Q: Which one issue is the most important to you right now? Why?

A: “Racial justice is probably the most important issue for me. Biden supports law enforcement, as do I, but he realizes that changes are needed. He wants to emphasize rehabilitation in the criminal justice system and encourage people of color in business.”

 

Q: Who do you think performed best in the first Presidential Debate? Why?

A: “I think that Joe Biden performed better in the debate. He did better than I expected him to, and though he didn’t do an amazing job, Trump acted like such a child, he made Joe Biden look impressive by comparison. Biden was more willing to answer direct questions, though he did avoid the court-packing question, and told the truth more often.”

 

Ryan Williams, senior political science major – Supporting President Donald Trump

 

Q: Why are you supporting your preferred candidate?

A: “President Trump has been the best modern-era president with the economy and foreign policy. The economy has never performed as good as it has under any other president; the president will continue to enact policies into law that will further benefit the economy and recover from the recent lockdowns. Trump is a revolt against the establishment status quo that has been in power since George H.W. Bush came into office and I am all for it. I will also never trust and vote for another candidate that has made their entire career and life’s earnings off of being in public office.”

 

Q: Which one issue is the most important to you right now? Why?

A: “For me, the most important issue is ending U.S. military presence in the middle east. For years, we have been involved in endless wars, sacrificing American lives for the sole purpose of helping the establishment and military industrial complex continue to severely milk the taxpayer. It is an issue that not enough Americans worry about. We are not the world’s police, and we must understand that there are rich, powerful and corrupt individuals in power that send American men and women to die for, when it is all said and done, nothing.”

 

Q: Who do you think performed best in the first Presidential Debate? Why?

A: “I think that neither side gained a decisive victory. However, if I were to determine a victor, I would go with President Trump. He came across as a much more strong leader who stayed true to himself. There were many instances where the president got underneath Biden’s skin and rattled him. Many thought Biden would come into the debate and represent a return to normalcy. However, the president forced him to make demeaning remarks towards Trump, showing that the picture the mainstream media has painted about Biden is fake. Trump came across as raw and strong, while Biden came across as weak and fake. This is why Trump won in my opinion.”