Zane Cavender and Travis Carlile will vie for the vice presidential seat in a runoff election this week. In the first election, Cavender lead Carlile. (Graphic by Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

After a heated election process, results for the top three student body positions are in.

Alex Mace and Katherine Ladner, who ran unopposed for student body president and student body secretary, respectively, have secured their positions in next year’s Senate.

Ladner overcame a last-minute campaign from write-in candidate An Phan to win her seat.

The real competition comes from the race for the vice presidency. Cohagen Wilkinson, a current Cox Senator, Zane Cavender, the current vice-chair of the Senate finance committee, and Travis Carlile, a former football player, were all hoping to be Alex Mace’s right hand man come fall.

After ballots were counted on Thursday, Cavender received 616 votes, Carlile received 400 votes and Wilkinson received 308 votes.

Because a candidate must receive 50 percent of the overall vote to win an election, Cavender and Carlile, the top two vote earners, will have to face off in a runoff election next week to decide who will serve as the vice president and oversee the 99th SMU Student Senate.

“Since there were 3 candidates, it’s a run-off between me and Mr. Carlile, and final elections are next Wednesday and Thursday, same time, same place. I’m looking forward to this next week,” Cavender said to his Facebook friends and supporters on Thursday afternoon.

Carlile is also gearing up for one more week of campaigning.

“The elections are not over yet. We now have one more week due to a run-off. So everyone make sure you vote next week on April 11 and 12,” he said on his Facebook profile page on Thursday evening.

SMU students are once again ready to engage in the campaign process. Supporters from both sides are ready to continue to fight for their candidates.

“Zane knows what he’s talking about and what he’s telling you he’s running for is what he’s going to get done. You can rely on the guy,” Olan Mijana, a sophomore, said.

However, not all SMU students are so excited about a longer election cycle.

“I understand that each candidate wants to campaign as effectively as possible to be elected to their position, but the endless adds to facebook groups, appearances at student organization events, and signs that litter the sidewalks make the process feel tiresome,” Taylor Kara, a first year, said.

Sam Martinez, a graduate student, won the graduate liaison officer position. He was the only candidate to run in the race.

“I hope to set the example for this newly created office by working closely with President-elect Mace, Secretary-elect Ladner, and the vice president-to-be-elected, as well as with the various officers of the different graduate organizations on campus, to bring about lasting and needed change for the benefit of my fellow students,” Martinez said. “Together, undergraduate and graduate students can contribute to campus life together and achieve further national recognition in academics and athletics.”

The slate of Senators who will serve the student body are set for next year.

Nikki Ruh, Ted Belden, Cohagen Wilkinson, Michael Mitchell, Jaywin Singh Malhi, Tyler Harris and Martha Pool will serve as Cox Senators.

Wilkinson, who lost the race for the vice presidency, will still be able to serve Cox students while Malhi, a candidate who lost his bid for a Cox Senate position last year, will finally get his chance to express the grievances of Cox students.

Paul Curry, Savannah Stephens and Jaimmy Koroma will serve as Meadows Senators.

Dedman, the university’s largest college, will have 13 student Senators.

Monica Finnegan, JD Mahaffey, Devin Kerns, Eric Gates, Preston Hutcherson, Kevin Shepley and Gabriella Padgett will serve as Dedman I Senators while Parminder Deo, Gloria Steinke, Hiba Ibad, Alex Morgan and John Manning will serve as Dedman II Senators.

In the case that Carlile loses the runoff election, he will still be able to serve as a Dedman II Senator.

The Lyle School of Engineering will have Caleb Pool, Christian Genco, Katie O’Neil, Emily Mcintosh and David Lee as Senators.

Special interest positions will be filled by African American Senator Shanitah Young, Asian American Senator Kathrina Macalanda, Hispanic American Senator Kevin McClendon and International Senator Ramon Trespalacios.

Students elected Nikki Ruh and An Phan – the only two candidates on the ballot – to serve on the governing board.

While elections were less competitive this year – from the lack of competition for student body president to many uncontested special interest positions – student representatives are enthused about the 99th session next year.

“Thanks everyone for all the support. We did it. Let me know the issues and concerns y’all have for the upcoming fall semester,” Parminder Deo said in the wake of his Dedman II Senate victory.