USG election by the numbers

1,729 votes O’Kelly received in the runoff election

3,619 votes cast in the primary election

After nearly a month of campaigning, political science and history sophomore Brendan O’Kelly was announced the winner of the Undergraduate Student Government presidential election on the lawn of Old Main on Wednesday afternoon.

O’Kelly, who received 1,729 votes, beat history sophomore Christina Rocks, who received 1,011 votes, in a runoff election. The results, which had O’Kelly winning by 718 votes, were more lopsided than those of the primary election, during which O’Kelly received 699 more votes than Rocks.

Joining Kelly in office next year will be Vice President of Services Chris Fennessey and Vice President of Policy Rudi O’Keefe Zelman, both political science juniors.

O’Kelly said his No. 1 priority is to spread awareness and advocate student rights at the Capitol.

“We’re going to make sure students are a priority at the Legislature,” O’Kelly said. “We’ve talked about putting another polling location on campus. We’re going to tell [politicians] what we think.”

Rocks called her campaigning experience “exhilarating” and thanked her supporters for their help. She said she would continue to stay involved over the course of the next year through her involvement with the Arizona Students Association.

Rocks said the best advice she could give O’Kelly is to focus on making sure student voices are heard throughout the state.

“Keep a positive attitude, and don’t settle when it comes to student power,” Rocks said.

Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.