As both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns continue, students said they expected Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain to win the nominations after the Texas primary.
The Daily Cougar staff conducted nonscientific poll of 100 UH students who had already voted or were planning on voting was conducted by to determine their opinions on who they thought would win the nomination of either party to become the presidential candidate.
Obama was the favorite candidate among students in the UH poll predictions. The student poll showed the Illinois senator leading Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., 70 percent to 14 percent.
"Obama has a better chance of winning the general election," political science junior Mirel Herrera said. "I’m tired of a Bush and Clinton dynasty. There needs to be a change and not just that. We can’t have a dynasty or an empire going on in the United States."
A majority of students said they voted for Democratic candidates because they support the party’s stance to end the war in Iraq.
"Obama voted against the war," art history senior Melissa Bonnette said. "He, along with Clinton, would be a large milestone for the country."
In addition, some students said they are looking forward to Obama’s idea of giving a tuition credit to every American who needs financial help in exchange for students’ doing community service.
"I like his stand on community service. He wants to give $4,000 to any college student who does 100 hours of community service a year," business management senior Kara Singh said.
Immigration issues also drew enthusiasm from students who voted for a Democratic candidate.
Students who voted for Clinton said they were interested in her progressive stance on immigration, abortion and social issues.
"I voted for Hillary because I like her stance on immigration and social issues such as woman’s right to choose, stem-cell research and her ideas on civil unions for gays," accounting senior Kristina Hernandez said. "I admit I’m not as aware of her stance on other issues such as tax reform, but I do agree with her on the policies that I’m most interested in."
Other students said Obama would win because his stance on immigration is stronger than Clinton’s.
"I would vote for Obama because he supports immigration legislation that would help me, and I feel that his new perspective would probably (be) more appealing for that kind of legislation, given that he is a proponent of change," Spanish and math education junior Franco Martinez said.
While Obama may win the popular vote, some students said they weren’t convinced of his experience with government.
"I think he represents a new and fresh leader, but at the same time I’m afraid he doesn’t have as much experience as McCain or Clinton," marketing senior Samia Mirza said. "We need someone people can trust and change our policies."
On the Republican side, 11 percent of UH students polled said they voted for McCain in the Texas primary. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee received 4 percent of students’ votes and Texas Rep. Ron Paul received 1 vote.
Although Republican presidential candidates McCain and Huckabee campaigned in Texas, students were interested in the more competitive Democratic race.
Some students said they viewed Obama as the best candidate to defeat McCain because of his policies and views.
"I like Obama’s policies and personality. Also, I think he has a better chance of winning against McCain in the general election," literature sophomore Chris Buspy said.
Other students said McCain would win because he has stronger policies and conservative views.
"I like his policies. He is really conservative with his fiscal policies and with his social policies he’s very liberal so I like that," pre-pharmacy junior Jennifer Sin said. "It’s like right in the middle."
