The WAHS 2016 Mock Election took place on November 5 and 6. Seniors in the government class were given the opportunity to learn about the political process in this hands-on project, campaigning for various candidates in the primary elections and persuading their fellow students to vote for them using everything from creative posters to baked goods.

“It’s kind of fun, learning more about the candidates and getting to make people vote,” senior Olivia Langan said. She and her partner, Deborah Ayres-Brown, chose to campaign for Republican candidate Marco Rubio. When asked about their choice of politician, Ayres-Brown said, “He’s cool because he’s a more moderate Republican, not someone like Donald Trump.”

On the other side of the political spectrum, Virginia Jahoda campaigned for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “I really believe in Hillary’s values,” Jahoda said, “I think she really applies to us locally, like with her stance against sexual assault on college campuses after what happened at UVA.” Jahoda said that the project was stressful at times, but that it was interesting to work with a different group of people on an engaging topic.

After the votes were cast and tallied, the infamous real estate mogul Donald Trump won the Republican nomination, while Senator Bernie Sanders procured the Democratic nomination. Both are frontrunners in the current national primary polls, with Trump leading the Republicans and Sanders being second in the running to Hillary Clinton. Trump and Sanders both identified as independent prior to their presidential bids as well; in fact, Trump had previously campaigned for President as the nominee of a third party known as the Reform Party in 2000, while Sanders is the longest-serving independent in congressional history.