Mary BoyteThe Associated Student Body elections for homecoming king and queen are headed to a runoff election today. Candidates Brianna Berry and Bradford Stewart will face off for the crown while Kenzie Blount and Jay Lee compete for the title of homecoming king.
The runoff election is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and can be accessed through MyOleMiss.
Madison Gordon and Ian Pigg were crowned 2021-2022 Miss Ole Miss and Mr. Ole Miss Tuesday evening.
Candidates Brianna Berry and Bradford Stewart made it into this final round after campaigning against three other students. Berry received 23.03% of the votes, and Stewert received 22.6%.
Berry, a biology major and pre-dental student, is overjoyed to be in the runoffs.
“I am beyond excited and honored to be a part of the runoffs,” Berry said.
She is ready to continue her campaign, which she has based on encouraging everyone to be the “Berry Best Version of Themselves.” Berry also acknowledged the benefits and opportunities of Ole Miss that have helped her get here.
“I have been given so many opportunities, friendships and resources that have helped me grow as an individual, and I’m so honored to be able to continue to share that message,” she said.
Stewart, a senior integrated marketing communications major, said she felt equally grateful.
“I kind of feel like I’m dreaming a bit,” Stewart said, “I’m so excited, and I’m just so thankful for all the support that I’ve gotten these past couple weeks.”
With only two names on the ballot for homecoming king, the race also continues for Kenzie Blount, who received 47.9% of the votes, and Jay Lee, who received 45.81%.
In such a close race, Blount, a general business major, acknowledged the apprehension he is feeling while continuing into a runoff.
“Not gonna lie, I’m feeling a little defeated,” Blount said. “But, I’m also super just pumped. Forty-seven percent of people that voted decided that they wanted me to be their king.”
Blount plans to continue his campaign based on embracing your individuality to victory on Thursday.
Lee, a senior social work major, shared similar sentiments.
“I feel excited, tired but excited,” Lee said. “Thank you Ole Miss for voting and I hope more of you vote for me Thursday.”
Lee said he is not done fighting for the title.
“I plan just to reach out directly with students more,” he said. “With an in-person election, I’m taking full advantage of those special interactions. I can’t wait.”
Lee hit on something very important about this year’s election. It’s in person. After a full year of Zoom classes, students are back on campus and interacting with each other face to face. This had a huge effect on the campaigns and voter turnout, as the election received the second highest voter turnout in Ole Miss history with 6,146 overall votes.
ASB Attorney General Grace Dragna acknowledged this change.
“I think (the election) went really well, and I think we can see that in our voter turnout,” Dragna said. Dragna credits the excitement of being back on campus for the high numbers.
“We were back in person campaigning, people were really engaged,” Dragna said “I think it was a really exciting election.”
Gordon, a public policy leadership major and pre-med student, is elated and ready to step into her new role as Miss Ole Miss.
“I can’t even really put it into words,” Gordon said. “Overwhelmed, I would definitely say in the best way possible,”
Gordon ran on the campaign, “Grow with Gordon,” with her campaign sticker featuring the slogan alongside a tree in an effort to encourage voters to strive for positive change. With an earlier election, Gordon said she hopes she can spend more time bringing about this change.
“My plans are to get to work,” Gordon said. “I’ve definitely been looking forward to the service entity holding this position.”
Pigg, a senior public policy leadership major, said he felt a sense of relief after his big win, stating he felt grateful to know that the student body aligns with him.
“It feels amazing. After a week of campaigning, it’s a lot of pressure off my shoulders,” Pigg said. “It feels awesome to just know that the majority of the university identifies with what I’m trying to do.”
Pigg, like Gordon, is eager to get started under his new title after some much-needed rest.
When asked what he is planning to do next, Pigg said, “Well, I’m going to sleep and clean my room. I really want to spend a lot of time loving on the people who supported me so much, then I really want to dive right in.”
In addition, Pigg said he is looking forward to working with Gordon on the philanthropy component of the job.
Along with Gordon and Pigg securing their victories and the homecoming queen and king races going into runoffs, the winners for maids and campus favorites were also announced Tuesday night.
Hailey Hagemann was elected senior maid, Mary Patton Murphy as junior maid, Laura Logan Flowers as sophomore maid, and Mary Calloway Rogers as freshman maid.
The female campus favorites are Sally Adcock, Channing Bridges, Lindsey Nosef, Maggie Smith and Grace Walsh.
The male campus favorites are Caleb Bloodworth, Beau Broussard, Darian Dotson, Cameron Evans and Jacob Knight.
