Four candidates see end of the road

Juniors Monique Hardin, Nash Keune, Joe Levin-Manning and Greg Strompolos did not receive enough votes to compete next Tuesday’s runoff election and were eliminated from the race after a month of campaigning.

Hogan Medlin and Shruti Shah will continue campaigning for another week until students vote again in a runoff to determine the next student body president.

The eliminated candidates now have the opportunity to potentially influence the outcome of the election by throwing their support — and campaign organizations — behind the two remaining candidates.

Two said they will endorse Shah. In last year’s race, Jasmin Jones beat Thomas Edwards, the front-runner in the general election, after receiving the support of the four eliminated candidates.

Levin-Manning, the former speaker of Student Congress who resigned to run for student body president, said he is disappointed by the loss but knew it would be a difficult race.

“It was a slim shot,” he said but added that the loss has some advantages. “I’m relieved that I can now have my life back,” he said.

Keune, who ran a less-than-serious campaign that included narwhals, said he is actually pleased not to be a candidate in the runoff.

“I am a little relieved — actually, very relieved and very excited,” he said. “That was quite a show.”

He said he was surprised by the results and did not expect to win.

“We got about 850 votes more than I thought we would,” Keune said. “I thought we’d get about seven.”

Levin-Manning said he plans to endorse Shah because he thinks she is the best candidate for the job and has always supported her.

“We’ve had a pact since freshman year that if she ran, I would endorse her,” he said.

Strompolos also said he plans to endorse Shah because he thinks she is the better candidate.

“She has a good perspective of how student government is inefficient,” Strompolos said. “She would be a good face for the University, and she’s so enthusiastic.”

He said he thinks Medlin’s expansive platform is trying to accomplish too much, but he respects Medlin’s campaign.

“He’s a hustler,” Strompolos said. “He did it. He organized it.”

Hardin said she has not decided if she will endorse.

Keune also said he has not decided who to endorse and does not know if he even has the authority to do so but likes Shah as a person.

“Some of the people on our campaigns have become good friends, and she’s a really nice person,” he said.

All four losing candidates said they do not know if they will be involved in student government next year.



Staff writers Emily Banks, Victoria Cook and Courtney Tye contributed reporting.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.