GMU Republicans Weighing Their Options

By Connect Mason Reporter Rachael Dickson

After winning the College Republican Federation of Virginia’s Best Chapter in the Commonwealth award this past fall, the College Republicans at Mason have a busy semester planned ahead.

First Vice Chair of the College Republicans Elise Marsh, a sophomore government major, said the group is all across the board on candidates to support at this point in the race, but has remained active thus far. Chairman Monica Block and member Adam Bitely, the Chairman of the College Republican Federation of Virginia, in fact flew down to Florida the first weekend after school began to campaign for Governor Mitt Romney in the primary there.

Some members of College Republicans worked to collect signatures for different candidates. According to the Virginia State Board of Elections website, in order to be put on the presidential primary ballot, a candidate must turn in a petition that is signed by “not less than 10,000 qualified voters in Virginia, including at least 400 qualified voters from each of Virginia’s eleven congressional districts, who attest that they intend to participate in the primary of the same political party as the candidate named on the petition.”

Senior James Fowler collected signatures for Republican candidate Fred Thompson, who just recently withdrew from the race.

“I felt that he was the conservative in the race,” Fowler said. “I wanted to help out.”

Fowler primarily collected on campus, but also at the University of Virginia versus Virginia Tech football game last semester, where signatures were being collected for many other candidates as well.

“On campus, I got a higher rate of signatures,” Fowler said. “Down at UVA, a lot of people weren’t eligible.”

Fowler cited disappointment after Thompson’s recent withdrawal from the presidential candidacy race.

“I’m not sure yet [which candidate to support],” Fowler said. “I’m weighing my options.”

When asked if he thought the Virginia primary on Feb. 12 could have an effect on the candidate selection, Fowler said, “If it’s split on Super Tuesday, it could. It’s anyone’s guess so far.”

The College Republicans cite a number of different interests in campaign issues.

“There isn’t any one issue,” Marsh said. “Everyone has something different that’s super important to them.”

Marsh expressed satisfaction with how the Republican candidates have been conducting themselves in the presidential nomination race thus far.

“We’re campaigning on records, not personal issues,” Marsh said.

The College Republicans have a number of events planned for this semester already, including the celebration of Conservative Pride Week from February 4-8 and a Support the Troops Week planned in April. They also plan on holding a watch party for Super Tuesday.

“Once we get past the presidential primary, it’s going to be a lot more focused on the statewide races,” Fowler said.