In a race too close to call, the country seemed to lean toward President George W. Bush as of press time at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Bush had 246 electoral votes while Kerry had 205 electoral votes, according to The Associated Press.
If both Kerry and Bush pulled ahead to tie at 269 votes, the election would then go to the House of Representatives, which is currently controlled by the Republican Party.
Students at the U had equally mixed reactions.
Shandiin Jakub, a sophomore in political science and a Republican, said, “I love Bush, and I was praying he would win.”
She said she thought changing a president in the middle of a war was a “bad idea.”
“I don’t agree with [going to war], but I think we need to stick with the president we have because he’s been there. We’re there. We can’t just pull out.”
Emily Lutz, a sophomore in ballet, also disagreed with the decision to go to Iraq, but still doesn’t support Kerry.
“It’s not a good thing that we went to war, but it’s a good thing that at least we helped [Iraq],” Lutz said.
She said she thinks Kerry would have gone to war had he been president.
“Kerry is superficial and tells people what they want,” she said.
TR Brooks, sophomore in psychology said he feels differently about the Iraq war,
“I really hate [Bush]. I really think he was dishonest, and I think he won the election by scaring people about Iraq.”
He thinks that if Kerry were elected, international relations would eventually improve.
“We wouldn’t see results at first, but then we would probably gain more help in Iraq and there would be less anti-American sentiment in the world. If Bush wins, it’s only going to get worse and worse.”
The deciding state this year was Ohio, which holds 20 electoral votes. Controversy surrounded provincial votes, which Democrats estimated the number to be at 250,000. The votes will not be counted for 11 days after the election, according to Ohio law.
Many students who gathered in the Saltair Room to watch the elections are anxious to find out who won, but some knew they would be disappointed either way.
“I’m just appalled at the two candidates this year,” said Patrick Barnes, a senior in finance, who said he voted for the “lesser of two evils” but refused to disclose which candidate he voted for. “I had to vote so I could take ownership in what was happening, but I’m not looking forward to either of them running the country.”
Election Results
PresidentAt press time 12:05 p.m. Bush 72.6% Kerry 25%
Governor Huntsman 57.9% Matheson 41.2%
Senate Bennett 99% Van Dam 4%
Congress District 2 Swallow 45% Matheson 52.9%
County Mayor Ivory 44% Carroon 49%