With the New Hampshire primary over and the Arizona primary less than one week away, UA students are gearing up to do last minute campaigning for their favorite candidates.
Nikki Naff, a molecular and cellular biology freshman, paced the UA Mall yesterday, passing out mints and the message of her candidate, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
"We pass out mints because Kucinich is a breath of fresh air. I know it's kind of corny, but it attracts people," she said.
Last night, Kucinich received 2 percent of the vote, up from zero percent in the Iowa caucuses.
"We will continue to campaign hard for the next set of primaries. We have seen very encouraging support from locals," Naff said.
Other students have also been hard at work, and they plan to continue going door to door to gain votes for their candidates.
Eliza Tebo, a history senior and employee of the Arizona Daily Wildcat, leads the Wildcats for Joe organization on campus. Tebo, who was in New Hampshire last night, has been campaigning for Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman since before the school year began.
Tebo has been calling Tucson Democrats for votes and campaign headquarters for advice.
"We have handed out tons of fliers, and we are writing letters to editors of newspapers saying why Lieberman is the best choice," she said.
Last night, Lieberman took fifth in the New Hampshire primaries with less than 10 percent of the vote.
Although Lieberman placed far behind the leader, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who had close to 40 percent of the vote, Tebo was not fazed.
"I will continue to campaign for him in Arizona and get students to vote," she said.
Student-led efforts for North Carolina Sen. John Edwards will also continue up until the Arizona primary Feb. 3. Adam Duckworth, a political science sophomore who traveled to Iowa to campaign for Edwards, has been going door to door to gather votes.
Edwards came in fourth in New Hampshire with 12 percent of the vote.
With less than one week before the Arizona primary, Duckworth said he will be making phone calls to promote Edwards' candidacy.
In a poll released in Sunday's Arizona Republic, Lieberman is in fourth place in Arizona. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who took second in New Hampshire, and Kerry are in a close race with Gen. Wesley Clark, who has poured nearly double the amount of advertising money into Arizona than all other candidates combined.
Kevin Chandler, a chemical engineering sophomore, is working on the Clark campaign. Last night, Chandler, along with members of Wildcats for Clark, met to watch the results of the New Hampshire primary and discuss their game plan for the next week.
Clark placed third in New Hampshire, barely edging out Edwards with 13 percent of the vote.
Even before the New Hampshire primary votes were finalized, Chandler was already on the phone calling local Democrats to get more votes for Clark.