Two candidates proved Wednesday night that you don't have to be a member of a slate to win a student election.
Rico Jeantete and Mike Mooney won positions in the ASUNM Senate - they were the only two candidates not on the Ignition slate.
"I think this gives hope to people that aren't on a slate that you can win and you don't have to be on a slate," Jeantete said. "You just give your campaign 110 percent and go all out."
Mooney said if you're not on a slate, you're alone. That's why he and Jeantete decided to help each other, he said.
"We're kind of like the dynamic duo," he said. "When you're on a slate you have 12 or 13 people promoting each other. All their names are on the fliers they hand out. We did all our own things. We chalked our own names around campus, we self-promoted and we had a lot less money."
Mooney will serve as a senator until the fall as a replacement for Sen. Justin Crosby, who was voted in as the Associated Students of UNM's vice president. Crosby and president-elect Kevin Stevenson ran unopposed in an election that had the smallest ever spring voter turnout - 760 students voted.
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"It was what we were expecting because there wasn't much competition," Sen. David Steele said. "More people running means more people taking interest."
Steele was elected to the Senate for another term.
Billy Jimenez was the only candidate who didn't receive a position with ASUNM
"Bill is a great guy and had a lot of good ideas," said Sen. Carlos Guillen, who was elected for a second term. "He was one of the guys who would have normally run independently. I wish he could have made it because he comes from a demographic very different from many people on the slate and in the Senate. He could've shaken things up. I'm sure he will stay involved in ASUNM."
Guillen said the independent candidates' surprising win was eye-opening and will affect elections to come.
"It was something I did not see coming at all," he said. "This election says, 'you know what? Anyone can do it. Anyone can run for Senate.'"
Guillen said when he was first involved in Senate as a presidential aide, the senators had heated debates and that's what made him want to become a senator. Because of a few landslides, this year's Senate was very friendly and there were never any big controversies, he said. He hopes good discussion will come back, he said.
Senator-elect Justin Stewart said he will bring diversity to the Senate.
"It didn't matter what position I got as long as I got in," he said. "I'm 27 years old. I'm openly queer. I'm not the traditional student."
Stewart said the only people who seem to vote are the Greeks who live on campus. Interest in ASUNM is definitely low, he said, he had a hard time getting people to take fliers from him or talk to him today.
"Now I have the credentials to say, 'Hey, I'm an ASUNM Senator," he said. "I want to help them with their groups, help them through the budget process and help them recruit."