While Concordia’s Campus Democrats have rallied around Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump remains an elephant in the room for Campus Republicans.
During primary season, Minnesota proved a bit of a unique case; in the caucuses, neither of the eventual presidential nominees was able to walk away with a victory. Clinton trailed Sanders by over 20%, and Trump lost to both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
Despite the tight race and fervent support for Sanders on Concordia’s campus, the Campus Democrats have officially endorsed Hillary Clinton for president after the party’s nomination.
“We recognize the large movement that was pulling for Bernie in Minnesota, but we will endorse the official democratic nominee,” said Lacy Tooker-Kirkevold, co-president of Concordia’s Campus Democrats. “We as a club feel like Hillary’s vast experience, intelligence, and analytical skills will make her a great fit for President of the United States.”
On the other side of the aisle, however, the same reconciliation has not taken place. Out of the few conservative groups on campus, none have endorsed Donald Trump for president, for various reasons.
Brayden Drevlow, president of Concordia’s branch of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) stated: “YAF has not endorsed Trump, mainly because we are a non-partisan organization.”
However, the absence of a Trump endorsement from Campus Republicans, who are associated with the Minnesota GOP, is a bit more startling.
“He doesn’t necessarily represent — to our chapter on our campus — true conservative values,” said Liam Nuhring, president of Campus Republicans.
Nuhring went on to describe the direction the party seems to be headed and explained that Trump is not a part of that vision. In his view, he would like to see the party move further center or even left on social issues while still sticking to conservative val-ues when it comes to economic and foreign policy.
“I’d love to make it very clear that this isn’t your grandfather’s GOP, and this isn’t Trump’s GOP,” Nuhring said. “The party is changing and morphing, and I think with this next generation we’ll see it morph into something more like mainstream libertarianism: fiscally conservative, socially liberal.”
Regardless of endorsements, students can make their opinions on the candidates heard by voting on Tuesday, November 8.
