Most UF students see themselves as Gators, but members of one group identify with an elephant.
With the Republican presidential primaries under way, the UF College Republicans are bringing the issues a little closer to home for students. The club is holding mock elections tonight at 5 p.m. in Room 355 at the Reitz Union, said Katy Melchiorre, the club's vice chair. This will be the first meeting of the semester.
As a group, the club will not endorse any one nominee, but members will discuss the pros and cons of each candidate.
"We have a bunch of individuals who support Romney's, Santorum's and Paul's campaigns," said Matt Pesek, public relations officer for College Republicans.
Pesek, a 19-year-old religion and political science sophomore, said during the meeting the members will discuss the results from the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. They will also discuss why some former candidates dropped out of the race, he said.
In the Iowa Republican Caucus, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney beat out former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Romney also pulled in the most votes in the New Hampshire primary, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul coming in second.
Club president Ryan Garcia, a 21-year-old economics and history junior, said he was not surprised by the Iowa caucus results.
"It went as expected," he said. "But I was surprised at how close the margin was between the candidates."
Throughout the semester, the College Republicans will be holding events related to the primaries. Melchiorre, a 20-year-old political science and telecommunications junior, said club members will set up a table on the Reitz Union North Lawn on Jan. 31, the day of the Florida primaries. They will have information about each candidate and will encourage registered Republicans to vote, she wrote in an email.
"Every election year we're always really busy," Pesek said.
The group encourages individuals to work on campaigns for their candidates until one is chosen.
Pesek said the club will not hold a debate because the members don't want to spark a conflict.
"We are all Republicans," he said.
