Juniors Hogan Medlin and Shruti Shah won the top two spots in Tuesday’s student body president election and will compete in a runoff election Tuesday.
Medlin took 44 percent of the vote, placing him as the frontrunner going into the runoff next week.
Shah took 16 percent of the votes, meaning she will have a substantial margin to make up.
This year saw 643 fewer students cast votes than last year, with 8,093 total ballots cast this year. Of those, 7,373 people cast votes for student body president.
Because no candidate won a majority, the two candidates will face off in a runoff election, for which they will be allowed an extra $100 for campaigning.
Medlin and Shah finished ahead of four other candidates: Monique Hardin, Nash Keune, Greg Strompolos and Joe Levin-Manning.
The results, announced Tuesday night, are contingent on certification by Board of Elections, which will come after a review of candidates financial statements submitted by 5 p.m. this afternoon.
Medlin, who collected the most petition signatures and had the largest membership in his Facebook group, said he felt a wide range of emotions upon hearing the news.
“I’m humbled, excited, ready to do this last week and enthralled,” he said.
Shah, who has campaigned on a restructuring of student government, said she was motivated in spite of the fact she trailed Medlin by 28 percentage points.
“I’m excited. I think we can win this if we really try,” she said.
In the 2009 election, Thomas Edwards earned 41 percent of the vote in the general election, and Jasmin Jones got 21 percent, a closer gap than this year’s candidates face. But Edwards narrowly lost the runoff election to Jones after the defeated candidates all threw their weight behind Jones.
Medlin said he hopes to avoid this situation by stepping up his presence on campus and motivating the electorate.
“It’s going to take being the one who’s shaking hands and getting people to vote again,” he said. “This week is going to be huge.”
Shah, who said she and her campaign were hoping for a run-off, said she believes she can beat Medlin.
“I want to emphasize I have the experience to do the job. I am definitely qualified,” she added.
The long election cycle did nothing to quiet the candidates’ excitement, who expressed a fervent desire to get back to campaigning.
“No sleep,” Medlin said. I’m more energized. I’m ready to go.”
Staff writer Alexa Burrell contributed reporting. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
